Still Flooded

Back in June, there was flooding in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. What we didn't hear so much about was there was also flooding in Illinois. It is now August and there are still places flooded in Illinois, such as this farm.

We were not far from the mighty Mississippi when I took this picture. I am not sure what the reason was but we practically crawled through this area. It was kind of a creepy thing since all I could imagine was that the railroad bed was not stable enough for us to move along at 80 mph. The same held true with the bridge over the river.

From Chicago to Denver, it was FLAT. Lots of corn, lots of grain elevators, lots of fruited plain. It was a good area to snooze through.

When we hit Denver we had a bit of a layover so it was a great time to get off the train and stretch the legs a bit. I didn't go into the station but instead walked back and forth on the platform. I found it amazing that there were travelers from different trains greeting each other like old friends. Apparently many people spend a lot of time traveling the US by train. A very lucky group.

Then it was back on the train and the beginning of the ascent into the Rockies (yes, Denver is a mile high. But it still looked like plain!). That section of the trip is what made all of the coach discomfort worth every second.