Last leg of an adventure

[C L Smooth]

So my friend and I just bought our tickets from Hanoi to PDX. We're spending about 40 days in SE Asia and are looking to finish off our trip with a ride from Portland to Chicago, then possibly Virginia. Neither of us have any real experience, other than short (<2 mi) trips on a freight that went through our neighborhood. I've spent the last few hours reading these forums and such, downloading maps and garnering valuable advice, but would appreciate any yall would be willing to throw my way. If there are any seasoned riders out there willing to share some wisdom, I'd be all ears. At least would like some direction for which posts to check out.

Trainspeed,
cls