Silver Creek, Nebraska

Platte River, Nebraska

Last week my wife and I traveled down the old highway #30 down the Platte River from North Platte to Plattsmouth. That is the old Mormon trail or Oregon Trail route from St. Lous, MO. to Oregon or Utah. The purpose was to test some of the concerns my protagonists have about the air, land, and water quality that is a by-product of industrialized farming methods.
     Silver Creek, Nebraska was named for the clear, cool creek that flowed near the town. The photo at left is Silver Creek today. The white gobs are bundles of foam bubbles probably from particulates in the stream. Flood irrigation in that area carries pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, and fertilizers to the lowest point in a field. Often that point leads to the creek meandering through the area and then into the Platte River and into the Missouri, the Mississippi and finally the Gulf of Mexico where a giant "dead spot" the size of  Indiana forms every year.
     AS ALL MY FATHERS WERE tackles that problem along with an edgy peace the two brothers bring to the trip they are required to make to satisfy their mother's will.
     I'm loving writing it. You'll love reading it.
In the meantime have you tried my other novels for good summer reading?