In Illinois and Indiana spring has really come.  We saw so many beautiful blooming trees, many apparently planted by the highway department!  The farms were large, but nothing had been planted yet, strange to us since it seemed like it should have been done by now.  We saw many large farmhouses and larger barns.  They are much bigger and a different shape than in Texas.  We were still seeing the rivers in the area  looking near flood stage, and even the Mississippi was high. 

We spent the night on the banks of the Mississippi in a town called Bettendorf, Iowa.  There were 4 cities there, merging together, so the area was known as the Quad Cities.  There were a lot things to see that we certainly had not known about.  We went to the John Deere Pavilion; apparently the world headquarters of John Deere is here in Moline, IL.  John Deere started as a blacksmith and invented a steel plow that worked better in the prairie area.  From there to now, quite  something.  Several of the huge farm machines were displayed in the Pavilion. 

In the middle of the Mississippi was an island called Arsenal Island because the government has stored  arsenals there during wars.  There was also a big army base there, as well as a National Cemetery.  There were thousands of graves. 

There was also a confederate cemetery on the island.