It took 27 years for Kansas City artist Jamie Burkart to set foot in the Missouri River. But that step led to a trip he would always remember. Burkart and others built a bicycle-powered paddle raft to travel down the Missouri to the Mississippi until they "tasted salt" when they hit New Orleans after four months. Along the way, they sailed through storms, slept on sand bars, took plenty of pictures (like the one shown) and discovered an identity similar river cities should grab on to. "How does this river connect Kansas City to people places and ideas? What connections does it offer if we just release ourselves onto it?" Burkart asks. The trip inspired his multi-layered multimedia project "Great Accommodations: Imagining Lifestyles for Cities on the Water," with an inflatable river channel, media art and video installations to document the journey, convey the emotions and recreate the experience. And he hopes that "Great Accomodations" can open people's eyes Kansas City's connection to the river and the chance to thrive from it. "This is just an example of how we can look 10 years into our own future by looking a thousand miles down river." Burkart says. "Great Accomodations" will have its opening event from 6 to 9 p.m. tonight at Paragraph + Project Space, 21 E. 12th St., in Kansas City. It runs through Oct. 4.