Saturday, July 22, 2017 – Bagpipes on Mulholland Street, P-day River Road

This morning on our way to do our P-day grocery shopping we drove through down town Nauvoo. We were surprised to see the Nauvoo Bagpipe and Drum Corps walking down Mulholland Street. They were playing one of my favorite tunes on bagpipes, “Praise to the Man” as they walked along. The Bagpipe and Drums ensemble is used extensively throughout Old Nauvoo during July for the Pageant, the vignettes at the historic sites, Country Fair, in the visitor’s center shows and many more places. 

The Navuoo Bagpipe and Drum group not only play “Praise to the Man” but they also play two other of my favorite hymns, “If You Could Hie to Kolb” and “Amazing Grace.” I love all three of these pieces on bagpipes. I could listen to them all day and never tire.

On our way to go grocery shopping we drive the “River Road” about 12 miles south to Keokuk. The river and the scenery are particularly beautiful this time of year with the Lotus plants filling the shallows and Lotus blossoms everywhere. Even though the Mississippi River is muddy year round, on a hot day in July it sure looks like an inviting place to cool off, at least it would have looked that way in the 19^th Century to Mark Twain’s “Tom Sawyer” or “Huckleberry Finn.”