After-hours Field Trip (Experience #2)

One of my other favorite aspects of the course so far has been hanging out with Kinsey, Chris, and their friends after class is over. Although our activities and class time have been very informative and fun, Kinsey and Chris have really gone out of their way to include us and teach us about NSU, Tahlequah, and Cherokee culture. Last Monday Kinsey asked if we wanted to go on a trip to the creek, and although I was somehow pretty tired from watching movies all day, I consented when Sedelta said it was one of her favorite places in Tahlequah. We started of towards the creek, and stopped at the a small, somewhat weathered building with a "Cherokee Weavers" sign in the Briggs community. When we got out of the car, Kinsey told us that her great-grandmother worked there to make tradtional Cherokee blankets (she is 92 and still walks to work each day). Although we couldn't go inside, we peeked in to see the two looms that were brought to the operation in the 1940's from a boarding school.

After another 15 minutes in the car, we arrived at Flatrock, a small creek teeming with crawdads and other animals. We spent about forty-five minutes exploring the creek. I somehow managed to navigate it with my huge purse and leather flip-flops on (a terrible idea). Asa showed us how to catch the crawdads, although I refrained from touching any. They were pretty cute little lobster-like creatures. While we were there, Ben managed to fall and get a pretty good cut on his leg (on a side note, Asa told me later to use honey instead of neosporin...she swears it heals twice as fast). Luckily, we all made it out of the creek alive and had an absolute blast.

On the way home, we stopped at two places. The first was a dilapidated building near Nickel preserve that Kinsey said burned down within the past six months. The combination of the setting sun and the fact that the building was surrounded by farmland was absolutely gorgeous. We threw bricks at the remnants for a while and eventually got bored and headed out. Before leaving, Casey and I both managed to cut our feet on barbed wire...hopefully we won't get tetanus.


After driving on Highway 10 (or "the scenic route" as the locals call it according to Kinsey) for a while longer, we arrive at a bridge at Eagle Bluff. By this time, dusk was setting in and we were all pretty tired. We skipped a few rocks, and Andrei totally dominated me with (I think) 8 skips.

Although this isn't an intellectual response, I wanted to express how much I appreciate having Kinsey and Chris around to hang out with and learn from. Getting a local's perspective on everything really aids in immersing yourself in a place and I feel as though they have really helped me to experience this trip to the fullest! This "field trip" is only one of the many things that they have done to acquaint us with Tahlequah and the Cherokee Nation, and I am so thankful that we have them!