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Museum and learn about the region’s seldom told African American history. You’ll learn the truth about slave ships, the vicious toils of slavery, slave revolts, the Underground Railroad, reconstruction and Jim Crow from displays crafted from antiques, artifacts, photographs and video interviews. When slaves escaped the Donaldsonville plantations, they ran or floated south to New Orleans (where they could blend in with free blacks), rather than hike north, where they would have to cross Mississippi, Tennessee and Missouri to find freedom.

From Donaldsonville, make your way to Hwy 90W toward New Orleans. At Lake Pontchartrain you’ll cross a 24-mile long causeway, the largest bridge in the world. When you get into the city limits you’ll traverse the gorgeous Cresecent City Connection, a four-lane cantilever bridge that crosses the Mississippi and leads into downtown.

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The River Rd continues on Hwy 23 along the west bank, where it ends 70 miles south of New Orleans, amid the stilted vacation homes, oil infrastructure and sport-fishing marina of Venice, Louisiana. This is the mouth of the Mississippi and you’ll see the river spread into rivulets that flood a vast estuary known as the Delta National Wildlife Refuge, which is protected by the Fish & Wildlife Service. There are redfish and speckled trout in the wetlands, and tarpon, snapper and grouper in the Gulf. Charter a boat for a day, and you can cast off a defunct offshore oil platform. Tens of thousands of migrating water fowl and shorebirds descend here, including osprey, three kinds of hawks, avocets, killdeer and dowitchers.

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Don’t miss the French Market. New Orleanians have been trading goods for over 200 years from this spot on the Mississippi riverbanks. In addition to the famous Café Du Monde, where you can snack on fried and sugared beignets, there’s a flea market, gift stalls and a produce market. If you haven’t yet floated down the river, board the Steamboat Natchez at Canal St. It offers historic dinner and day cruises that are great for families. If you don’t mind brown-bagging lunch, head to Crabby Jacks and order a smoked duck po’boy and a salad to go, then take it to one of dozens of riverside benches and picnic. You can access the river from Decatur in the French Quarter or from Canal St in the CBD. And when it’s time for shuteye, float to the upper reaches of the W New Orleans in the CBD, where swank rooms and suites have exquisite views of the city, and that sweet, brown, sinuous river that has formed, flooded, and nourished the continental United States for centuries.

Adam Skolnick

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TRIP INFORMATION

GETTING THERE

From Hannibal take Hwy 61S to Hwy 55S through St Louis to Memphis. Continue on Hwy 61S through Mississippi to the 110S in Louisiana which merges with I-10E toward New Orleans.

DO

Anheuser-Busch Brewery

Tour the largest brewery on earth. 314-577-2626; www.budweisertours.com; 12th & Lynch St, St Louis; admission free; 9am-4pm Mon-Sat, 11:30am-4pm Sun Mar-May, Sep & Oct; 9am-5pm Mon-Sat, 11:30am-5pm Sun Jun & Jul; 10am-4pm Mon-Sat, 11:30am-4pm Sun Nov-Feb;

Delta Blues Museum

Peruse memorabilia, video installations and coming soon…the Muddy Wing. 662-627-6820; www.deltabluesmuseum.org; 1 Blues Alley, Clarksdale; adult/child $7/5; 9am-5pm Mon-Sat;

Delta Cultural Center

Helena’s glorious musical past is distilled into this fine museum. 870-338-4350; www.deltaculturalcenter.com; 141 Cherry St, Helena, AR; admission free; 9am-5pm Tue-Sat;

Gateway Arch

Stare at the elegant arch from below, then ride the tram to the top. 877-982-1410; www.gatewayarch.com; the Gateway Arch Riverfront, St Louis; tram adult/child $10/7; 8am-10pm Jun-Aug, 9am-6pm Sep-May;

Mark Twain Boyhood Home & Museum

Fans of the eminently quotable author/traveler will enjoy this blast from Twain’s past. 573-221-9010; www.marktwainmuseum.org; 415 N Main St, Hannibal; adult/child $8/4; 8am-6pm, call for abbreviated winter schedule;

Mark Twain Riverboat

Twain piloted a river boat just like this. 573-221-3222;