Gayle Harper's Words and Images Honor America's Beauty, her Greatest River and her Colorful People

Quad Cities - When Gayle Harper learned that a raindrop falling into the headwaters of the Mississippi would travel the River for 90 days to reach the Gulf of Mexico, she knew immediately that her project of a lifetime had appeared.  Harper made a 90-day road trip along the nearly 2,400-mile course of the Mississippi, while keeping pace with a raindrop called "Serendipity."

Harper's journey on the Mississippi River led her through the Quad Cities area, and she will be back again next week to talk about her book, Roadtrip with a Raindrop, her journey, and the people she met along the way.

Thursday, September 17 at 6:30 p.m.

Bettendorf Public Library, 2950 Learning Campus Dr., Bettendorf

Quad Cities Photography Club Meeting - Public Welcome

Friday, September 18 at 6:00 p.m.

River Music Experience, 109 Main Street, Davenport

Harper wandered back roads without plan, meeting people in farm fields, on their porches, in cafés, even while stopped for road construction, who invited her into their lives.  She went to dances, birthday parties, a wedding, a powwow, neighborhood barbeques and festivals. She was invited home to dinner, to meet friends and relatives and onto boats of all sizes, from a canoe to a towboat.

"The people of this journey," says Harper, "are the soul of it. They were welcoming, inclusive, playful, curious, colorful and authentic. There was two-year-old Hazel, who plopped down beside me to show me her green shoes, and 87-year-old Marshall Bouldin III, who moved me to tears when we talked about art. There was a north woods adventurer, a Southern Belle, a "river rat," a Delta Blues man and a pixie-like nun. "

"The Mississippi River is the aorta of our country," says Harper, "it is essential to our ecology and our economy and it is deeply embedded in our history and our very identity.  I watched it grow from a fragile stream into a massive force of nature, yet its essence is always the same."

Roadtrip with a Raindrop is a celebration of America and of the simple moments that make life an adventure. In its 240 pages are 55 stories, with nearly 200 full-color photographs. Together, the words and images invite us to leave our agendas behind, to travel at the pace of a raindrop and to rediscover the fine art of letting life happen!

The book is an Award Winner in Foreword Review's INDIEFAB "Book of the Year," in the Travel category. It has also won The Clarion Award from the National Association of Women in Communications!

BOOK DETAILS

Roadtrip with a Raindrop: 90 Days Along the Mississippi River

By Gayle Harper

Hardcover, 240 pages, $39.95

Available at www.gayleharper.com

MADISON, Wis. (Sept. 1, 2015)?The Mississippi River Parkway Commission (MRPC) has announced the start of Drive the Great River Road Month, the annual celebration of America's oldest and longest National Scenic Byway.

During Drive the Great River Road Month, motorists are encouraged to plan their own trip along the 3,000-mile Great River Road, which follows the Mississippi River through 10 states, from Lake Itasca in Minnesota to the Gulf of Mexico in Louisiana. Travelers can spend a day or a month exploring one of the oldest, longest and most unique scenic byways in North America.

Fall is the perfect time to travel the Great River Road. Amazing panoramas of fall color greet motorists as they travel alongside the Mississippi River along the northern section of the Great River Road. As fall progresses, travelers can follow the autumn colors south as they pass through cozy river towns and bustling big cities and visit more than 70 interpretive centers?museums, historical sites, wildlife refuges and more?as well as agritourism attractions like fall festivals, orchards and farmers markets.

Fans can win $500 in Great River Road Sweepstakes

To help celebrate Drive the Great River Road Month, the MRPC has launched the Drive the Great River Road Month Sweepstakes, which runs through Sept. 30 and will award one grand-prize winner with $500 to spend on their next Great River Road trip.

To enter, fans can visit the Great River Road's website or find them on Facebook.

MPRC launches online shop for Great River Road merchandise

Drivers who have navigated all?or even part?of the Great River Road now have a way to show off their achievement. The MRPC has launched a new online store that sells Great River Road merchandise, including apparel, bags, travel mugs, car magnets and more.

Plan your Great River Road trip with the help of www.experiencemississippiriver.com. There, you'll find information on all 10 Great River Road states, interpretive centers, upcoming events and must-see attractions, along with suggested itineraries and maps.

You can also find The Great River Road on Facebook, Pinterest and YouTube.

"We reached out to Friendly Sons of St. Patrick to determine how we could help make these two great events complement each other," says Greg Edwards, President and CEO of the Greater Des Moines Convention and Visitors Bureau and Des Moines Area Sports Commission. "We wanted to find a way for the parade to leverage the additional visitors who will be here, while also ensuring that locals still have an enjoyable experience."

The Friendly Sons of St. Patrick of Central Iowa organizes and executes the parade. In partnership with the Greater Des Moines Convention and Visitors Bureau and the City of Des Moines, the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick saw an opportunity to attract more attendees, offer unique performances and alleviate traffic and congestion for locals and visitors coming in to downtown.

"The change in date allows us to showcase our parade to thousands of out-of-town visitors," said Mike O'Connell, President of the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick of Central Iowa. "We are also hoping to attract NCAA pep bands, spirit squads and teams to participate in our parade, which would provide a really unique entertainment enhancement for those who attend."

The parade will begin at Noon and will run the same route as previous years. "Our local organizing committee will be reaching out to NCAA to ensure that fans and teams receive proper communication about how they can experience and get involved with this event," adds Edwards.

For more information on the parade visit, friendlysonsiowa.com/parade.htm.

For more information on the 2016 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship first and second rounds in Greater Des Moines, visit catchdesmoines.com/sports/ncaa-basketball.

Greater Des Moines will host dealers and buyers from around the world at the Holiday Inn Airport and Conference Center, 6111 Fleur Drive. This premier petroliana show will feature gas pumps and globes, tin and porcelain signs, neons, cans, bottles, maps and other gas, oil and auto-related advertising items.

Collectibles will be for sale through Thursday with more than 200 vendors displaying items in the hotel parking lot, exhibition hall, ballroom, courtyard and hotel guest rooms. The auction, conducted by Rich Penn Auctions, begins at 9 a.m. on Friday.

The Iowa Gas Swap Meet is free and open to the public. All are invited to shop and attend the auctions.

For more information, visit www.iowagas.com or contact John Logsdon at (515) 321-7930.