Australia: Ideas for IECA and the SOIL Fund from “Down Under”

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12 August 2025: Riding the Rails from Denver to Chicago – Part 1

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Story and photos by Will Mahoney   Those of you who know me well have learned that I have an unusual, nerdy hobby:  stamp collecting.  I was infected by this affliction at age 6 just after starting first grade in Southern Pines, North Carolina in 1952.  I now specialize in stamps of the colonies, territories, and protectorates of the British Empire and my collection is housed in more than 100 three-ring binders.  I won’t bore you with further details but would be glad to regale interested parties with countless stories about, and scans of, my collection. A silly hobby, yes, (aren’t most hobbies?) but it has had a major influence on my life.  It got me interested in the world at an early age which eventually led to an M.A. in geography which, along with my undergrad degree in geology, was an excellent background for my career in environmental science.  When I realized earlier this year that the 4-day Great American Stamp Show (probably the largest annua...
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13 August 2025: Riding the Rails from Denver to Chicago – Part 2

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Story and photos by Will Mahoney   I awoke around 6:20AM as it was getting light.   The lush agricultural land and scattered woodlands passing my window reminded me that I was now far from Colorado.   I checked Google Maps on my phone and saw that the little blue dot marking our progress was now nearing Gretna in eastern Nebraska.   Downtown Omaha in the early morning light viewed from the Amtrak station.   At 7:00, we made a brief stop in Omaha.   Instead of immediately heading east across the Missouri River and into Iowa, the train headed south 20 miles to Plattsmouth, Nebraska where it finally crossed the Missouri.   South of Omaha, the Zephyr crossed the Platte River just above its confluence with the Missouri.    The logical route for Amtrak across Iowa from Omaha would cross the center of the state, serving Des Moines (the state capital, population 215,000), Iowa City (76,000, home of the University of Iowa), and the Quad Cities (Incl...
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18-19 August 2025: A Sleepless Night Across the Heartland

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The five days I spent in Chicago were rather hectic.   Four days at the Great American Stamp Show at a convention center in the western suburbs plus dinners and “guy-time” with my nephew, Liam, including celebration of his 27 th birthday.   On Monday, August 19, I braved the crazed traffic on the Kennedy Expressway to return my rental car to the downtown agency, then walked several blocks to the train station while pulling along my big, wheeled suitcase with two smaller bags around my shoulders.   It was good exercise which I needed before 19 sedentary hours on the return train to Denver. I wanted to check the big suitcase and arrived at the baggage line 55 minutes before the train was to leave.   There was only one agent and the line moved at a glacial creep.   When I got to the counter 20 minutes later I was told that the cut-off for baggage checking was 45 minutes before the train departed.   “Well, I would have had time if Amtrak had more agents workin...
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