At one-hundred-and-twenty-one nautical miles, the flight from Chicago to Moline was one of my longer ones. Cruising speed on my Warrior II is 118 knots. After a good night's sleep, I wake up and grab breakfast at Quad City Coffee and Pancake House, then it's off to sightsee. I check out the John Deere Pavillion and the Figge Art Museum before returning to the airport. It's cloudy when I take off, but there's still a great view of Quad City.

The flight to KCID Cedar Rapids is shorter, at seventy-one nautical miles. The overcast clouds continue, washing everything in desaturated tones.

I visit Brucemore in Cedar Rapids, do a walk-by of the Paramount Theatre and Cedar Rapids Museum of Art, then I'm back in the air for my trip to KDSM Des Moines. At first it's fairly clear skies with green fields stretching on forever.

I'm flying at five-thousand feet when the cloud bank rolls in, but I have plenty of warning and descend to twenty-five hundred long before it's upon me.

The landing is smooth and I grab some dinner at the Flying Mango (which I feel should be my new callsign) before checking out the Salisbury House and Garden and Pappajohn Sculpture Park. Tomorrow it's on to KRDK Red Oak.