*WED AUG 27* *Hampton to Erie, IL* It was an early morning because of the long March—19+ miles. It began sprinkling at the beginning, but stopped shortly after I started. The email from Jordan, our Illinois coordinator, listed 2 routes—walking and driving. I took the walking route because it started out with the Bike Trail we had been on. It had a lot of blacktop roads and little traffic. It was the right thing to do. I left after Circle-up, and got to Heritage Park in Erie at 10am. The amphitheater was very small so Izzy and I set up a tent. Fortunately there was no rain in the afternoon, evening, or night. Before dinner we had a overview/briefing of the Chicago Stay/Rally/Events. After the briefing we broke into groups to describe the details we hoped for. At dinner there were reports so that we created an initial outline of the expectations we had for our Chicago events. After dinner Faith shared her proposal suggesting how we could reduce the use of vehicles that burn fossil fuels—the Kitchen Truck, the Gear truck, and the Commode Truck and how we should use hand-drawn trailers. There was a good deal of conversation over the proposal which stretched into the evening. Thank goodness, the next day was a 9-mile day, so wake-up was scheduled for 8am and departure for 10am. -- Peace, David