Hills of Iowa

The mist was levatating this morning and defined the soft, rolling hills of Iowa through most of my drive.  The landscape was so stunning that I couldn't help but to hum a Dar Williams song line..."I've never had a way with women but the hills of Iowa make me wish that I could".  The photos above couldn't capture the beauty of the feminine energy of the land.  In perfect juxtapostion to yesterday's billboards were billboards with a photo of the Dalai Lama with the caption "He doesn't just talk about peace, he demonstrates it in his every action".  

The front page of the Iowa Gazette today had a photo of Martin Luther King Jr. on the cover with the caption.."Inspiring Still:  Message of racial equality remains relevant 40 years after King's death".  I was just a baby when he was assassinated in the Lorraine Motel.  It is now the National Civil Rights Museum and will be my first stop in Memphis tomorrow.  I realized that after such a great drive that I could now make it to Memphis as I'd planned.  The energy is pulling me in.  All the reading and preparing over the past 5 months will be in action.  Glorious!

Blessed Be,

Kat

Day 4

Amidst billboard after billboard of children with downs syndrome who have somehow become the poster children for "Pro Families Across America", ultra right wing radio and guns held on the back window of pick up trucks it was VERY refreshing to settle into the hotel and see a documentary on the Mississippi Delta.  Last night I caught the 'Guide to the Best Bar-B-Que' in the Delta.  Turns out even the politics of the Presidential election can't keep down great food and great music!  

All that aside, I'm 2,600 kilometers into this journey and have another 1,400 to go before reaching the Delta.  Two thirds way there...yaaahooooo!  And that Mississippi is growing wide and strong as I travel along.  I can hardly wait to post new photos of just how mighty she is.  In fact, there is a major flood watch on in the Delta right now.  With driving safety coaching from the weather person on TV I shall soldier onward.

Stay well and write...okay?

Kat

Winnipeg & Mississippi Headwaters Photos

Lake Itasca & the Mighty Mississippi

The 'Rivers'

Mississppi River

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Lake Itasca, Minnesota

The Ojibwe gave this river it's name...'mizi-ziibi'...meaning "Great River".  Lake Itasca, a glacial lake, in northwestern Minnesota is the birth mother to the Mississippi River.  A sign nearby said...

"What makes a River "Great?"

It's easy to imagine a river as a living force, 

shaping the landscape and impacting the lives of the people it touches.  

How do you measure the greatness of a river?  

Is its significance a result of geographic statistics 

or its influence on people's lives?

A terrific question and not one easily answered unless you love the Delta Blues.  Then the answer is...the people's relationship to the River is the greatest indicator of all.  In the case of the Mississippi...she is revered as the "Mighty Mississippi", a living, breathing part of the lives of the people in the heartland of blues music, the Mississippi Delta.

Anyway...much like yesterday this day was serene with no problems at the border;however, when I stepped out of my car at the headwaters of the Mississippi River instead of a train whistle I heard a gunshot!  A sign that I had crossed into a different culture with many similarities like box stores, 4x4 trucks and really bad mullets but with a different relationship to weapons and the importance of the militia.  Thankfully the Canada Geese in the photo on the right honked reminding me that their migration can be a thread to connect me back home.

With the railway tracks from Saskatchewan and the Mississippi now joined geographically I will follow both the next 3,726 kilometers to the Gulf of Mexico and Baton Rouge, Louisiana.  

The next blog are other photos from today...a scenic shot of the melting snow on the Mississippi and the CN Symington Triage Yard in Winnipeg that sends trains west or east in Canada or south into the USA.

Rock 'n roll...

Kat

Waldron Photos

Stop the Trains at Waldron!

The 'Rails'

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Waldron, Saskatchewan

And so it begins...it was mighty chilly this morning (-18).  A more perfect morning I couldn't imagine though because, as I set up my video camera to catch the 6:24am sunrise, in the distance of azure skies and a sundrop of radiant orange a train whistle broke through the silence calling me home.  Such sweet perfection...I couldn't have scripted it any better!

My mother went into labour while pregnant with me and, despite a snow storm and 30 miles to travel to hospital, she attended to the guests in our home by playing an encore on her auto harp.  (Seriously...that's my mother.)  On November 25, 1967 I was welcomed into the world with music in my soul and, one thing I know for certain, I shall leave having lived the soul of a musician!

Our family farm located a few hundred feet from these tracks was a very modest two room home 'strategically' built right over top landfill site mainly for old vehicles.  It was common to hoe the potatoes (did ALOT of that) and dig up an old car side mirror, handle or some other metal or glass object.  In the back yard a blue clothesline stand that we would stand on as children and shout at the top of our lungs... "Stop the trains at Waldron!!".  If my father, a CN engineer, was on the train we'd hear a couple extra toots to acknowledge our efforts.  

I was reminded today of placing my dreams and pennies to flatten on these rails.  They were my hope for freedom and now they are the very conduit of it.  This trip is a 'journey of a lifetime' and it seems like I've stepped back in time today to gather images.  

In the next blog you'll see the CN train engine with the gracious engineer who gave me two extra toots today.  You'll also see the old truck and Anglican church as well as the boarded up one room school I attended for the first six grades.  

I am overwhelmed with memories and gratitude today.  Blues music has truly saved me!

Keep on keepin' on,

Kat

PS:  I learned today that the Alberta Creative Development Initiative, a joint funding opportunity from the Canada Council and Alberta Foundation for the Arts, approved my application for financial support for the next 6 months to develop this project and my artistic contributions to blues music.  HUGE, and I mean, HUGE thanks to everyone involved in making this happen!

Ground Swell of Support

I'm now counting the hours until I leave on this voyage. Monday, March 31, 2008 will be an amazing day to let the wind blow in my hair and leave my concerns behind me. I am very excited for the freedom despite internal conflicts about leaving my sweetie to 'hold down the fort'. However, our agreement is to support each other in achieving our individual dreams and this is mine.

I feel such support as I move into this experience and the culmination of energy was rich for my March 15 concert at the Blue Chair Acoustic Cafe. What a night! I really needed that support and encouragement. Thanks to everyone who gave it in spades. The idea is to do a couple dinner concerts upon my return with photos and video backing the new tunes. We'll see how that develops. My goal is not to erase the tapes at this point. :-)

Keep in touch and see you soon...Kat