Originally Posted by madsen89

Thanks for all of the great advice.

For various reasons, the trip didn't happen this year, but it is most definitely on my list for another year, perhaps 2020. When I do it, the current plan would be to take the train from Chicago to NOLA, follow the ACA Great Rivers South route to IL where I would pick up the TransAmerica for a short bit and take the train home from Carbondale, IL I might just keep riding through IN to home, but that might be outside my time limit.