By: Monique Baxter, IFR student and self-described wizened old crone with unsatiable curiosity
My favorite quote is “All journeys have a secret destination of which the traveler is unaware”. As a 50-something, changing my career is both a journey and a daring adventure. Well just like the recent turns in my life, so goes the trip to Fayetteville Curation School. While admittedly I am a different demographic than most of the field school students, I am not so old I could not learn new things, experience fresh ideas, or challenge some long-held beliefs. I am happy I found this field school as it checked all my boxes. I had many experiences outside the field school and suggested learning doesn’t start and stop in field school. There is so much to see and if you have an adventurous mindset you can curate your own experiences outside the class.
Sometimes getting to the destination can be as much of a learning experience as the actual field school. Living in Washington State, I knew I had a couple of options, plane, train, or automobile. Most from Washington would have taken a plane, but direct flights were not plentiful, and I wanted to take a few extra items for comfort. Decidedly, a road trip was the way to go! It took me about 5 days to arrive at Fayetteville, AR. On the way, I traveled through Idaho, Montana, South Dakota, Iowa, and Missouri. This was a solo journey, and my travels took me through many reservation lands. I was able to experience the Badlands of South Dakota at Sunrise and learn about the early treatment of Mental Health at the Gore Psychiatric Museum in St. Joseph Missouri.
Our field school directors did a fantastic job finding places to visit in Arkansas with curation challenges, interesting archaeology questions, and ethical considerations. Fayetteville had its own cultural experiences, and I am grateful to the local field school students whose recommendations were excellent. I sampled the world’s greatest grilled cheese at Hamontree’s with fellow field school students. We visited Dickenson Street Bookshop and Funky Fayetteville Flea Market. I also explored places like Eureka Springs, where I absorbed fascinating history and even participated in a ghost tour.
Once Field School was a wrap, I still had a journey to arrive home. Meeting my travel crew in Tulsa Oklahoma we had six days to experience even more of the country. I met up with my adult children and traveled on a different 6-day road trip home visiting everything from the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Tulsa, OK to traveling historic Route 66 and the VW Bug Ranch outside Amarillo. We met up with my daughter’s friend, a working archaeologist with the National Forest Service. We sampled the pastry delights of Pie Town, NM. I learned about the incredible Indigenous people who constructed Mesa Verde and experienced the commerce of the little shops in Lava Hot Springs.
My advice to fellow field school students would be to include life outside field school as part of the experience. Listen to people who have a different voice or even a different perspective. Be open to additional lessons like how to get along with people from diverse backgrounds. Like field school, life is a journey, not a destination. Say yes to new adventures which can be as simple as choosing a different path.
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