We had gained an hour when we got to a little before Nashville yesterday, so woke up early naturally and were able to leave Howard Johnson (where we felt our van was safe overnight with umpteen State Trooper cars in the parking lot) at 7:30am. As we crossed the Mississippi River at Memphis, I thought of the pioneers who had crossed it going west looking for fortune and better land, and the Native Americans who had lived here before the whites came. In contrast to theirs, our crossing was easy, high over the water with a great view of the Pyramid ( where the Memphis Grizzlies play) and little islands, and egrets. With this we left Tennessee and were in Arkansas, driving by flat fields of soy beans, rice (yes!),corn, and sorghum. Soon we were driving
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