Author, photographer recounts 90-day trip along Missisissippi River

Before publishing her book, Gayle Harper spent a great deal of time measuring others at Barnes & Noble.

Their size, how they were organized on the store shelf, their covers. She wanted her book to be perfect, "not just a book someone puts on their coffee table."

In November, she published "Roadtrip with a Raindrop: 90 Days Along the Mississippi River" through Acclaim Publishing in Sikeston, Missouri.

The book consists of a series of 55 vignettes, Harper said, with nearly 200 photos to accompany her 90-day, 2,400-mile journey along the Mississippi River Road.

"Each one is like a short story, complete with its photographs that string it together to tell the whole story of the journey," Harper said.

Gayle Harper, travel photographer and author of "Roadtrip with a Raindrop: 90 Days Along the Mississippi River," holds a book-signing Saturday at Barnes and Noble in Cape Girardeau. (Savanna Maue)

She first talked about the idea after her nomination for the Santa Fe Prize for Photography in 2009, but felt it wasn't ready. She didn't know what she was waiting for until one day, while researching an assignment, she read the quote: "A drop of water that falls into the headwaters of the Mississippi in Minnesota will travel 90 days to reach the Gulf of Mexico."

"And in that second every cell in my body came to full attention and I knew exactly -- in that moment -- the whole project was there, fully formed," Harper said. "I knew that I would make a 90-day road trip, that I would follow the whole course of the river and that I would keep pace with an imaginary raindrop that I would call Serendipity. I had no idea how it could happen, but I had no doubt that it was happening."

Other than arranging her lodging, Harper left the entire trip up to serendipity. She traveled from town to town, from Minnesota all the way to Louisiana, during the fall of 2010. Along the way, she said she stayed in all types of lodgings, from a fisherman's cabin in the woods, to a tugboat converted into a bed and breakfast, to a plantation mansion.

On page 130 of her book, Harper visits Cape Girardeau, where she attends a little girl's birthday party and goes out to the overlook at Trail of Tears for a beautiful shot of the river.

Before her full-time career as an author, Harper was a travel photographer for 23 years, but said eventually her personal project "continued to mushroom and mushroom and mushroom until it has now taken over my life, and I happily give it. It's great fun," she said.

Gayle Harper, travel photographer and author of "Roadtrip with a Raindrop: 90 Days Along the Mississippi River" holds a book-signing Saturday at Barnes and Noble in Cape Girardeau. Luke Morrison listens to Harper explain a page in her book. (Savanna Maue)

Harper said she could never choose a favorite location or activity along the journey, but was always surprised by how open and helpful people were. They would tell their stories and be generous in explaining whatever they were doing. Harper recalled one story of Randy, a sugar cane farmer who willingly allowed her to ride with him in his tractor during harvest, after she approached him out of the blue one day.

Harper said people were like that everywhere. She had the opportunity to kayak in Tennessee, ride on a barge in Illinois, take photos of the St. Louis skyline from the rooftop of her hotel in St. Louis, and dozens of other amazing stories that she loves to share.

On Saturday, Harper visited the Barnes & Noble in Cape Girardeau, the second stop of her book-signing tour, and was happy with the outcome. She said people were waiting for her when she arrived, and the manager of the Barnes and Noble said many people had expressed interest in the book.

"People are so thrilled with it because it's not a book about famous people or the famous landmarks; it's about real people and real experiences," she said. "It brings up their memories, and people just have a real heartfelt connection with it. It really seems to just touch people in a really deep way."

Harper's book is available on gayleharper.com, at Barnes & Noble and on Amazon.com.

smaue@semissourian.com

388-3644

Pertinent address:

Barnes and Noble, 3049 William St., Cape Girardeau, Mo.