Sunrise Wednesday 22 June - last time we woke up in a train couchette it was to sunrise in the alps. Well the sun was the same today but the scenery couldn't be more different - after two hours waiting for a tree to be removed from the tracks in front of us we're still in the flat farming lands of the Midwest - endless arable fields with the occasional small group of animals.
Most Americans we have spoken to are incredulous that we are choosing to travel by train rather than fly - but I love train travel, it provides a window into the backdoor of life - seeing things invisible from the road and certainly hidden from three miles above the surface. Of particular note have been the knots of small poor housing - one or two room shacks, trailer parks, etc throughout the landscape - American may be the richest per capita country in the world but it's clearly not spread that evenly...