The inspiration for this drawing is a story that is part of the Natural Heritage Project‘s Mississippi River Stories work. They have collected stories about the river and sent recordings to artists who will participate in an exhibit at the Mississippi Watershed Management Organization. Below is a transcript of the recording of the story I received.

I have lived near the river for decades. And I think I’ve probably run, hiked biked, tens of thousands of miles on the trails in the river gorge in the Twin Cities. My dog loves swimming in the river and would do it every day if I would let him. My most recent story of the river is that my wife and I took a bike trip from St. Paul right near the Lake Street bridge to New Orleans, largely along the Mississippi River last year, a 1500 mile bike ride. In which we were able to experience the culture that I believe has flowed upstream from New Orleans to the delta to Memphis to St. Louis, and up to the Twin Cities. A culture that includes music and cuisine and all kinds of things. We love the river and want to protect it.  And thank you for doing this project.  

This story of the Mississippi River is from the Twin Cities community collected by University of St. Thomas students through a research partnership with the St. Thomas Sustainable Communities Partnership, the Natural Heritage Project, and the Mississippi Watershed Management Organization.

For more, see my post A Tour of the Mississippi.