Glacier National Park was breathtaking and terrifying. As someone who is deathly afraid of heights, I only made it up about three quarters of the Going to the Sun Road before I had to pull over and turn back. My knuckles were white, palms sweaty, and my breathing was in quick bursts. Honesty, I don’t know how I made it that far. My wife was more than happy about turning around as well.
Hohenwold, Tennessee is a tiny town a few hours west of where I live in Chattanooga, Tennessee. I was out there a few years ago and while there isn’t much in that area, the views of the mountain to the south and the rolling hills, plains, and farms are beautiful.
One of my favorite parts of this story was being able to write in the town of Astoria, Oregon. I’m sure the locals there get tired of it, but that’s the price they pay for fame.
In case you didn’t know or forgot, Astoria was where the movie The Goonies was filmed. That movie was one of my favorites as a child and I still watch it whenever I see it on television. It, along with the Indiana Jones movies, were the inspiration behind everything I write. Those films instilled in me a love of history, mystery, adventure, and the instincts of a suspicious treasure hunter who is always wary of taking things at face value.
Fort Stevens is a real place and is visited by many people every year, along with its sister forts near the mouth of the Columbia River.
You might also be surprised to know that the bunkers I detailed at the park are real, though somewhat tricky to find depending on the time of year and the growth of the grass and brush around those spots.
I did add in the secret passages, but don’t think that’s always the case. (I’m narrowing my eyes at you.)
Ha!
The Mysterious Death of Meriwether Lewis- This part of the story is very real and I did, to the best of my abilities, get everything as accurate as possible in regards to how Captain Lewis died and the cover up surrounding his passing.
It is truly one of the most bizarre tragedies in American History. This man was a hero. He would have been treated like a celebrity, much as the astronauts were in the 1960s and 70s.
While his mental health issues are documented, the fact that he did not give his reports of the Corps of Discovery Expedition to Thomas Jefferson and delayed on giving them to Madison certainly spark deep speculation, especially from minds like my own.
I mean, why would someone shoot themselves in the gut and then the head? Yet that is what was determined to be the cause of death.
Maybe their weapons weren’t as effective back then and to do the deed required two shots. I doubt it.
Unfortunately, the only witnesses to the passing of Captain Lewis are also history’s biggest suspects. Now that everyone from that period is gone, I suppose we may never know the truth. In my opinion, it is one of the most fascinating and sad cold cases in history.
As always, I leave you to concoct your own conclusions.
Other books by Ernest Dempsey
Sean Wyatt Adventures:
The Secret of the Stones
The Cleric's Vault
The Last Chamber
The Grecian Manifesto
The Norse Directive
Game of Shadows
The Jerusalem Creed
The Samurai Cipher
The Cairo Vendetta
The Uluru Code
The Excalibur Key
The Denali Deception
The Sahara Legacy
The Fourth Prophecy
The Templar Curse
The Forbidden Temple
Adriana Villa Adventures:
War of Thieves Box Set
When Shadows Call
Shadows Rising
Shadow Hour
For my friend Stacy Reid.
Acknowledgments
None of my stories would be possible without the great input I get from incredible readers all over the globe. My advance reader group is such an incredibly unselfish and supportive team. I couldn't do any of this without them.
My editors, Anne Storer and Jason Whited, must also be thanked for their amazing work and guidance in crafting these stories. They make everything so much better for the reader.
Last but not least, I need to give a big thank you to Elena at L1 Graphics for the incredible cover art she always delivers, along with beautiful social media artwork.
I also need to give a shoutout and thank you to my friend Ernie Lommatsch. Before I met him, everyone called ME Big Ern, but he’s a good five or six inches taller than me and a far tougher cat. He was a ranger at Glacier for a few decades, built his cabin with his own hands using money he saved up from week to week. He’s an avid hunter, a knowledgeable outdoorsman, and I’m happy to call him my friend. We were lucky enough to book his cabin on airbnb.com and I have to say it was providential. We became quick friends and he’s even writing a book about his adventures in the wild. So, a big thank you to Ernie for his hospitality and kindness to strangers from the south.
Last but not least, thanks to my stylist, Monica, for always being such a good sounding board while cutting my hair.
The Omega Project is a work of fiction. All names, characters, events, and places are products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Copyright ©2019 Ernest Dempsey
Ernestdempsey.net
All rights reserved.
Published in the United States of America by 138 Publishing.
The Omega Project Page 40
