Tag: rivers

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The Mark of Humans

ellenparkerwrites

For centuries, the rivers in America ran wild. In the spring they flooded and left the land rich with nutrients when they receded back into a narrower channel. At times they found an easier way around an obstacle and made a new path. Or they sealed off water and formed a lake.

The human inhabitants, relatively few in number, adjusted travel and building patterns to the river’s habits.

Then the 19th century arrived. The population increased dramatically, and these new humans felt entitled to control the world around them. First they tinkered around the edges. Then, as building materials changed, the situation became more serious.

From the north, this is the second-to-last dam across the Mississippi River. This series of structures was designed with locks and dams to enable shipping to have a safe minimal water level. You’ll find them dotted at irregular intervals from St. Paul, MN to St. Louis, MO.

No dams on the river in 1851 when New Dreams, a sweet historical romance, takes the reader to this fictional village. Board a virtual steamboat and come along for an adventure with a baker and a reformed(?) thief. https://amzn.to/3vWydWE

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The Constant is Change

ellenparkerwrites

In many jobs, the scenery outside the window, or out an open door, remains the same from day to day. Sometimes it stays constant from season to season.

Having worked in many windowless laboratories during my career, I was grateful to the people who added scenic posters or personal touches to the common spaces.

On the other end of the scale, are jobs where the view is constantly changing. Route drivers come to mind — traffic is never exactly the same twice. Another would be barge workers. The seasonal, and more frequent, changes along the banks of great American rivers is always in flux. Too much rain swelling the river? Drought affecting crops? Repairs or construction to a bridge? Will we go under a bridge as a train crosses?

This photo from the Missouri shore outside Hannibal, shows northbound freight. I wonder what new things the crew spotted that day.

The river in fictional Elm Ridge, Illinois brought all manner of freight, passengers, and mail in the mid-19th-century. Check out the sweet romance, New Dreams, for the story of immigrants adapting to their new land.

https://amzn.to/3vWydWE

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Staying Connected

ellenparkerwrites

At times, keeping a big thing all connected can be difficult. Bigger may be better — but communication, connection, and transportation are key.

Bridge: according to my thesaurus, some of the alternate terms are: viaduct, platform, catwalk, and trestle. Some of meanings are more specific to what the bridge crosses (or connects) or what is crossing on it. So authors, and engineers, need to choose words with care.

While not all the bridges of this small city on the eastern bank of the Mississippi River are visible in this photo, they are all important. One carries highway traffic eastbound. A different bridge, constructed more than 40 years later, hosts a westbound highway. Railway bridges cross the river a little to the north of this view.

This bluff area is a good place to create a fictional town. And thus Elm Ridge, Illinois, was created on the page. In the sweet historical romance, New Dreams, the reader arrives with a pair of immigrants in April 1851. For details on the book, click here: https://amzn.to/3vWydWE

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Running High & Fast

ellenparkerwrites

Rain, snow, ice — when the spring thaw arrives, water in the liquid state seeks the low places. Perhaps a ditch. Then into a creek. A river holds more and wanders through miles and miles of farmland.

This is the American Midwest, and the water is in a hurry to meet up with the Mississippi River.

This photo, taken in May from the Missouri bank of the Des Moines River, gives a glimpse of high, brown water transporting bits and pieces of Iowa southward (generally). In this exact location, the direction is more eastward. No lazy lake here. You best build high and away from the river to prevent damage from seasonal floods.

Perched on a bluff above the Mississippi River, the fictional town of Elm Ridge, Illinois does not worry about floods. (Aside from the town wharf and the warehouses at the foot of the bluff.) Step back to 1851 and meet the residents — American and immigrant in the sweet historical romance, New Dreams. The link for more information is here: https://amzn.to/3vWydWE

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A River Runs Past

ellenparkerwrites

My hometown is less than a dozen miles from the Mississippi River.

My current home lies at a similar distance, farther south, on the opposite bank.

The same river, obvious at times and other times out-of-sight, weaves through my sweet romance novels.

Many benches, tables, and rocks offer inviting places to sit and watch the river. The above view is called Lake Pepin — an area where the river widens to approximately three miles.

No matter if you come to picnic, soak in the sun, meet a friend, or escape from daily cares, an outside bench is a welcome site. Join me in March as we visit/revisit outside seating I’ve seen near home or on travels.

The Crystal Springs Romances: Starr Tree Farm, Hiding Places, and Seed of Desire, are set in a fictional village several miles from the above view. Explore the first of the trio here: https://amzn.to/2zqIQEw

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River Taming

ellenparkerwrites

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

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Three Bridges — One River

ellenparkerwrites

If you begin in St. Louis and intend to drive any great distance (or any moderate distance) you will find it necessary to cross at least one river. Depending on direction and distance, you may cross more than one — or the same river more than once.

Today we’re going to focus on driving southwest from the heart of the city. The first sizable (except during flood) river you will encounter is the Meramec. The first time you cross it on Interstate 44 or a state highway running roughly parallel, the river is flowing south — perhaps a few degrees to the southeast.

Less than ten miles later, Interstate 44 crosses the Meramec River again — where it flows north. Like most rivers, perhaps a little more than average, the river changes direction several times as it wanders from the source to the Mississippi River.

This is a crossing where a steel truss bridge with oak floor planks spanned the water in 1900. In 1932, a new bridge, to carry the traffic for the new US Highway 66 replaced the previous. When the Interstate was construction, a new bridge, a little south (upstream) was completed. The old (second) bridge continued to serve local traffic until 2009. At that time, the decking was removed in an effort to lighten the load on the steel trusses and wait for funds to restore the structure which now lies within a State Park.

A trace of Bridge #1 remains with the pair of footings visible at low water. Bridge #2 — deckless — is in the foreground while Bridge #3 carries the traffic from St. Louis to points southwest such as Rolla and Springfield in Missouri, Tulsa, OK and beyond.

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River Street

ellenparkerwrites

River Street. Wharf Street. Water Street.

Small towns and large cities alike frequently have streets with one or more of the above names.

Yes, they often parallel a river — whether the river marks the city limits and cuts through the center of town. It’s a natural — rivers served as liquid highways (many still do) long before the network of roads in the United States was developed to support more than a man leading a pack horse.

Roads have improved — in number and quality. Often they served the many factories which were built along the rivers. Transportation has always been important to industry. A large number of the factories, many outdated, others closed for dozens of other reasons, no longer receive or ship goods on the rivers. Instead, fleets of trucks arrive with raw materials and depart with finished product.

Exceptions do exist.

A freighter passes through a draw bridge while using the Fox River as a liquid highway. From a riverside path (re-purposed railroad right-of-way) we followed along at a brisk walk as the ship headed toward the third and final drawbridge before entering Green Bay — leaving the city, entering the bay.

Can you imagine traveling this way from one city to the next in the Great Lakes?

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No Exceptions!

ellenparkerwrites

All street traffic must stop! Did you see the flashing light? Hear the bell? Notice the red and white arm lower?

It does not matter if you are a bus, a truck, a sedan, an SUV, or a bicycle. ALL street traffic must stop!

But…but…but…I’m late for an appointment.

Explain the situation when you arrive. Locals will understand.

When the bridge tender raises the draw bridge…ALL street traffic needs to pause.

Best reaction? Stop your vehicle, draw a good breath, and watch the river traffic enjoy right-of-way.

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Downbound

ellenparkerwrites

The great inland waterways of the United States don’t get a lot of national press. Due to the area in which I grew up plus the region I have called home for several decades — I’ve always been aware of them. More exactly: the Mississippi River barge traffic.

Locks and dams enable the upper portion of the river to stay open by keeping the water level at or above nine (9) feet. Yes, it seems amazing that huge, heavy barges and the tows which push them require water only nine feet deep. I’m sure physics is involved. Understanding the fine points of buoyancy was not my best science topic.

The pilots on the tows need to be alert and capable. They also need to be trained. Have you ever thought about what sort of education is involved in some of the very specialized occupations?

I had one of those “of course” moments a few years ago on vacation in Paducah, KY. Located on the Ohio River near the junction with the Mississippi — it makes perfect sense for a river pilots to have a training facility.

Paducah celebrates modern river pilots on their flood wall mural.