Humans have been tinkering with rivers since the dawn of civilization. Have we mastered the art?
Well — not exactly.
Rivers appear to cut their own way through geography and history. Flood? Yeah, we can do that. Cut a new channel? Sure, just give us a little time. Shrink? Give us a few drought years and light snowfall at our source and we can make your barges and boats scrape bottom.
Of course, size matters. Just like you talk about a stream, a creek, or a rivelet feeding into a river, the rivers come in all sizes and lengths. And don’t expect a straight line from point A to point B. We like to wander, find the low spots and the softer earth to yield to our power.
But humans continue to attempt to control these forces of nature.
Along the mighty Mississippi River, from Minneapolis to St. Louis, you will find a series of dams to control navigation. This one, Melvin Price Locks and Dams, replaced the previous structure of Dam #26 near Alton, Illinois. Built and maintained by the US Army Corps of Engineers, each of the 27 locks and dams do their part to ensure barge and other water traffic moves steady on this liquid highway.
Morning Tryst, a sweet, contemporary romance, includes scenes along the Mississippi River where it forms Missouri’s eastern border.
Kindle readers: https://amzn.to/35gH37S
