We have worked our way West from Chicago across Illinois to the Mississippi River that forms the border with Iowa. Illinois was largely flat, but as we neared the river it gave way to some hills. It is very pretty with lots of deciduous trees among the corn fields. Lots of massive corn fields! It was refreshing to find that gas prices have gone down a bit - while we were there, Chicigo had the highest price in the country.

We stopped at Rochele where the Union Pacific and the Burlington Northern Santa Fe railroads cross. They are 2 major lines and it is one of the few places where two double tracks cross. There is a viewing stand with speakers and information and over 120 trains pass there each day. We spent about an hour there and saw 7 trains!

We have visited 3 locks on the Mississippi so far. Its fun to watch the barge traffic and also saw a riverboat casino going through the 6-10 foot change in water level.

It is harvest season and we have seen a lot of farm equipment. They are harvesting the soy beans and the corn. They work into the dark with lights. It appears to be corn for ethenol and corn products rather than table corn.

We are on the Iowa side of the river now. Today we went to the "Amana villages" area which is 7 small German villages from the 1800s. They were celebrating Ocktoberfest and we walked around the area. The buildings are mostly hand cut stone.

Iowa is surprisingly pretty. Again, it is hilly with lots of trees and the ever present corn fields. There are lots of small towns. You pass housing areas, corn fields, small businesses, open space, corn fields, some cattle and pigs, and then a town. The people are somewhat reserved. It brings to mind the words in the song from "The Music Man" - "Its the Iowa way to treat you if we treat you which we may not do at all!" People are surprised if you stop to let them cross the street, but don't wave or nod thanks! They don't aknowledge you for holding a door or stepping aside to let them pass or when you enter a store. If you initiate a conversation, then they are friendly and a nice lady asked if we needed help when we stopped near her house to look at a map.

Midwest impressions:

1. pretty flat - the hills are small by our standards

2. corn fields everywhere - some soybean but mostly corn

3. industry or power plants are often in the distance

4. huge silos

5. wind

6. farm vehicles on the road

7. lots of freight trucks on the freeways

8. every small town has a water tower - it always has the town name on it

9. restaurants still have smoking sections

10. no helmet laws - motorcycles or bicycles

11. lots of road kill - mostly coons

We have spent several days in the Chicago area and like it a LOT. The downtown is beautiful. There are so many trees and beautiful landscaping around most buildings and streets lined with parkways and plantings. Of course there is Lake Michigan and rivers through town to add to the beauty. We have also had fabulous weather - clear, sunny and 75 to 85. (Most stores, buildings etc. have storm entrances to remind us that sometimes the weather is really bad.) The architecture is diverse and spectacular. Nothing is "strange" and it all seems to work together to create a beautiful city. Had a fun tour on a Double Decker bus with a really knowledgeable guide. She had great architectural info along with info about Oprah and others.

We had a wonderful lunch at "Signature", a restaurant on the 95th floor of the John Hancock building. It was so far above most of the buildings that it was a bit scary! The view was incredible.

The surrounding neighborhoods are also pleasant with lots of trees, parkways and plants. There are countless elegant high rise condos downtown with views of the Lake.

The terrain in the Midwest is quite flat. We forget how much that we rely on Mount Rainier or the Olympics in the distance in the Seattle area to help orient our location! There are no such landmarks here to do that. Our trusty GPS helps us to find North!

The traffic in Chicago is not too bad. It's definitely not as bad as New York and similar to Seattle. Bob has done fine driving around. If we stop to let a pedestrian cross, they look surprised and don't know what to do!

Back on the road!

We have arrived in the Chicago area after our wonderful train trip! We boarded the Empire Builder at the King Street Station in Seattle. Rod and Linda gave us a ride down and were able to come on the train to see our digs! It was so relaxed - not at all like the airport. You could arrive just before boarding and get right on the train. No baggage search, shoe removal or anything. They don't check tickets until the train is well underway. It left late, but no one seemed to care.

We had a small bedroom which is 2 seats by day and 2 bunks at night after porter, Tom works his magic. It is small, but still comfortable during the day. We were in the very best location for a room of our size. It was downstairs where there are 5 rooms, 3 toilets and 1 shower. (We never had to wait to use anything.) The same size rooms upstairs are along the walk through hallway and much less private. People are constantly going to the dining car, observation car, or taking a walk. Our little corner of the world had a couple similar to us across the hall and we both had our doors open most of the time so we could see the scenery on both sides. The others in our area were: an elderly man who had owned a New York Deli for years and now lives in Concrete, WA on his son's property and often takes the train to visit other relatives, and a young couple from Japan on their honeymoon who did not speak English well.

We left on a beautiful day and we were on the Puget Sound side of the car with great views. When we passed Monroe, Carlee brought the kids to the tracks to wave at the train. We put a sign in our neighbors window as our room was on the wrong side. We saw them waving and hopefully they spotted our bright orange sign with their names on it! Cell phones made this rendezvous work!

The beginning of the ride was smooth and quiet. There were patches later that were much bumpier and rougher. Many of them at night! Bob had lots of fun with his GPS tracking.

The dining car was 3 cars away. The meals were quite good with about 8 choices. Menu was the same for both days. Dinner was by reservation and breakfast and lunch were first come first served. You gave your name and came back when called. Meals came with the fare - anything on the menu. Drinks and snacks in the club car were extra. We enjoyed everyone we met at meals. Many were part of a "cult" of people who take the train often. One of our table mates was a Sue from Oregon who turned out to be the mother of one of Jean's friends from work at Nintendo. We had actually met her son at the Nintendo house nextdoor in Hawaii! It really is a small world.

Our porter knew our neighbor, Bob, who had been a porter for many years. Bob's brother, Bill Murray (who said he was the original Bill Murray) had answered questions for Linda at the King Street Station.

It was such fun to see the world go by your window! There were many very short stops and some a bit longer. We frequently got off to stretch our legs. They always warned us to stay close as the train does not wait. The mountains and Glacier National Park were stunning. The plains were less beautiful, but still interesting.

Our main problem was with the beds. They are not very comfortable. The bottom bunk was definitely preferable. The top bunk was shorter, narrower, windowless, harder, and there was not enough clearance to sit up. Linda hardly slept, Bob did a little.

When we arrived in Chicago 46 hours later it was rather cold out! Bob got the rental car and we proceeded to drive to the motor home about 2 hours away in Michigan. Happily things were good in the coach. No bugs, mildew, or odors. The 6 moisture absorbers were nearly full and everything inside felt dry. It survived a hot humid summer. Our thermometer read that the highest temp inside had been 124! Linda slept 11 hours that night and unpacking and grocery shopping completely wore us out the next day.

We are now at the Leisure Lake resort, the nearest motor home park to Chicago. We will stay here several days while getting to know this area.