We are about six hours out of Chicago and will hopefully be only three hours delayed rather than five hours (our original delay yesterday). As we walk back and forth to the dining car we pick up all manner of conversations. Today the seasoned conductor was speaking to a couple who were bemoaning the delay and what would be a missed connection to their next train. The conductor, in a voice that carried most of the car, said “The secret to train travel is to leave a day early.”
The food and service in the dining car have been very good. The accommodation (a bedroom) is compact. We have our own bathroom and if you don’t mind having a shower while sitting on the toilet (lid closed you know) then you could shower too. There are bunks for sleeping and thankfully no pictures of a 70+ year old climbing up to the bed above. Sleeping in a rolling, rocking train is it’s own thing.
We’ve chatted with a rodeo cowboy who checked his saddle with the luggage (on his way to a big rodeo in Fargo). He was the real thing and sported luggage and jacket that said he’d been in the finals in a rodeo at another time. There was a couple from Iowa who flew to the west coast of USA to catch the train and ride it east, a younger man who worked for a non-profit who was paying for him to go to college, and a retired man who had ridden trains all over the US and visited 20 countries. Most of the people we’ve sat with (communal sitting) in the dining car are doing this for the experience.
We just went by Red Wing MN. If you own a pair of Red Wing shoes, this is where the family company started and is business to this day.
Barb's True Stories 
Enjoy your trip home, Barb. Wish we were on the train with you and Mick. 😊
Looks like you are both