On a tour of the Mississippi River Delta, I hardly expected to find myself in a beautifully restored 1934 Art Deco airport terminal. But there I was, standing on a large marble compass inlay admiring the surrounding flight-themed murals by Xavier Gonzalez. Once called the “air hub of the Americas,” New Orleans’s diminutive Lakefront Airport lies on the north side of the city along Lake Pontchartrain and rests atop an artificially built peninsula, a concept of great relevance in the Delta, I would soon learn.
This was but one surprise on a five-hour adventure into a beautiful world of water and shifting earth. My guide into Delta history, ecology, environmentalism, and culture was Barbara Johnson. Ohio-born, Johnson came to New Orleans for grad school in the ‘80s and never left. Her background in urban planning coupled with a passion for the environment inspired her to found the Great Delta Tour Company.
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