Bike Arkansas Feature: Carving Out the Future of the Delta

At first glance, the Arkansas Delta may seem to many Arkansans simply as the seemingly endless expanse of farmland between Little Rock and Memphis. The Delta is often seen as having nothing more to offer than the food that we either grow or hunt there. Martin Smith, co-founder of studioDRIFT, certainly felt that way even being a fifth-generation delta resident. “I spent the first 20 years of my life trying to figure out a way to get out of this place, and the next 10 trying to figure out a way to get back,” said Smith. The draw that Smith experienced back to the Delta was one of personal history, to save a historic family home in Birdeye, but it led to a discovery, or rather, a rediscovery of what makes the Delta so much more than meets the eye.

“We live in a society that pays the bills, but I would say that very few people are over the top happy with the way that our society is set up and the Delta really hasn’t changed that much.” says Smith.

In the middle of all that flat farmland is nestled, an extraordinary ecological anomaly so much different from the neighboring land that it is considered its own region. Crowley’s Ridge was hand carved by mother nature over the course of 50 million years as a windblown glacier moved its way through what is now the Arkansas Delta. This ancient root stretches for 250 miles from Mississippi all the way into Helena, Arkansas creating a natural cathedral for the masses to visit. The ridge is encased in a luscious green canopy that shields you from the rest of the world and allows you to experience what it’s like to live in the moment again.

Read the full article here!

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