Day 22 - More Corn & Soy

We pushed east through Illinois, and watched the corn & soybeans dry up under hot, blue skies.  We have seen fewer cows and other crops (except corn or soybeans), in Illinois than in Minnesota or Iowa.  We passed miles of dry, dry corn & finally passed a couple fields with sprinklers irrigating the corn - which they usually don't have to do in Illinois.  We crossed the Illinois River which drains most of the central part of the state, and rode along it's associated wildlife refuge.  Thoughts for the day:

1.  I have remembered Steinbeck's quote from 'East of Eden' “And it never failed that during the dry years the people forgot about the rich years, and during the wet years they lost all memory of the dry years. It was always that way.” Illinois dealt with flooding in 2008 and 2011. 
2. Smooth biking today - the only hills were going down into & out of the river drainages.

 Corn on the left, soy on the right

Illinois River

Emiquon Wildlife Refuge