Thursday, March 4: Fort Smith AR to Nashville TN

Today was a day for driving - all the way across Arkansas, which is mostly flat in the lower part of the state. We saw miles of farmland, including lots of rice fields - Arkansas is the largest producer of rice in the U.S. Not much wildlife viewing, except for hawks - lots of hawks perching along the roadside, looking for lunch. We crossed the Mississippi River at Memphis, and headed on across the great state of Tennessee.

We stopped for the night at the Gaylord Opryland Resort Hotel in Nashville. We'd heard folks talk about this place as a destination, but we still weren't prepared for nine acres of lush indoor gardens, with waterfalls, giant water fountains (reminiscent of the Bellagio in Las Vegas), and a river running through it. The Gaylord Opryland claims to be the largest non-casino hotel in the world - after walking all over it, we can't argue with that claim.