New Job!

I received the news yesterday that Wilson County Modified Alternative Program (MAP Academy) offered me a job as Educational Assistant. I am pretty excited about starting there next week. The opening of this position was brought to my attention the same week that I started to look for a job within my area of study. Although it is not exactly the teaching direction that I had pictured, it will get me involved, give experience, and offer a challenge. One of the great aspects of this job is that it gives me full teacher benefits. I will not only have state healthcare coverage (medical, dental, etc.) but I can jump start my state retirement as a teacher. Also, this week I will complete my study at Volunteer State Community College thus obtaining my Associates of Applied Science in Secondary Education. I am super excited about starting my Geography program at MTSU this Fall but, I am even more excited about the three week break starting Tuesday of next week. As I said earlier in this blog, my life is changing every semester it seems and it just keeps getting better.

Oh yeah, Lindsay (wife) found out that she was more of an asset to her company than she once thought. Her supervisor, asked if she might be interested in staying on part-time while she was going to school. Turns out that throughout the retention, she has stood out to a few of the executives at her job as someone who they need to have around. It is still under discussion but there is even a possibility of them letting her work from home. One of the greatest parts, is that she would get her severence pay and the retention bonus and get to keep her job! After finding this out, I made the comment, "so, do you think we are making the right decisions?" It has fascinated me how things seem to work themselves out when we are moving in the right directions. It makes you wonder, does someone else have a hand in this? Anyway, good things are happening in the Horner household and I wanted to share.

By the way, I will post about the rest of the trip soon. Lindsey (sister) is moving into town this weekend and getting ready for exams might not allow me to post the rest of the story. I hope all is well with everyone.

Soo...after we all came down from our highs in Zion National Park, we hit the road again. We drove for what seemed an entire day but somehow it was still light when we set up camp. This was totally foreign to us, but we adapted. Once we set up, it didn't take me long to start wandering.

This is what was waiting for me to find around the corner about 1 1/2 miles away from my tent! I was in awe at the sheer size. I couldn't gain any scale of how far away things were or how deep this canyon really was. Mr. Cropper, the geology instructor, would say things like "look at those two lines of strata across the canyon, they are more than two thousand feet difference in elevation." I still didn't get it, it was just too big, I had to get into it to understand.

As you can see, the views were incredible! I was told that the days we were there were perfect for taking pictures. Actually, we made a few professional photographers angry by conducting discussions at key overlooks, OOOPS! These are some of my favorite from my vantage point.

Oh yeah, did I mention the sunsets! There are a few places on earth that you can hear the earth speak, this was one of them.

The next morning we hiked into the canyon to Roaring Springs and back out. Along with a few others, I really wanted to hike as far down as I could and then go back up. Mr. Cropper wanted to keep everyone safe and do a challenging hike but do-able for everyone. So Roaring Springs it was, I mean it was a change in elevation of 3,000 feet so at least I could work up a sweat! Turned out it was plenty of a hike.

There was one thing you had to avoid at all costs, droppings!

As you can see, the views are nice but not as good as from up top. This is why there are so few pictures of the hike! Well that and the reason that I was too tired to pull the camera out.

And so begins the struggle!

Well, we all made it back safely, maybe a little tired but good! I started getting the feeling that these parks out here are a lot like Disney World in the sense that, you really can't see them all in one visit. They are just too massive! I guess I will just have to come back later, when I have a little more time. This is the whole group as we were leaving to go to Mesa Verde. Next time I will share what an amazing place that was.

And finally...The Southwest

Okay so, since I have not gotten around to show and tell of the Southwest, here is a brief overview. The people were great, no problems, no fist fights or anything! I think the instructors had it pretty easy, it is really hard NOT to understand geography and geology when you are standing in the middle of two BILLION years of earth history. One purpose for this trip was to hopefully lock in which one of these two subjects I wanted to be involved with. It worked, and I am sure you all will be surprised to hear that I stuck with Geography. My insructor, Mr. Bell showed me the science of geography and I became intensely interested in the cultural side. I became intrigued with how mankind in the past and present has interacted with environments and how that relationship affects each other. Anyway, I will have plenty of time to rant about that stuff so lets get to the pictures.

The rocks out here were too easy to climb, I am afraid if I lived out here I would have a new hobby! Just another day in the classroom. Mr. Bell posing questions to our group about what would inspire people to inhabit areas like this one. Gee...I don't know?

The bath water was just right! About 42 degrees and a little sandy but it was still nice. This was about 100 yards outside of our camp. It became my favorite spot to sit and relax.

Zion Nation Park

Unfortunately, the part of the park that I was looking forward to most was closed. I think this was the first time that I have ever been disappointed about the river being too high.

Fortunately, Zion offered much more than slot canyons and she quickly redeemed herself with the Angel's Landing Hike.

It was pretty strenuous. You might have to look closely for the people walking Walter's Wiggles. This is a set of switchbacks leading up to the first landing. In 28 turns we accended 500 feet of eleveation.

Looking down from the 1st landing, watch your step! See if you can located the shuttle that holds upto two hundred people.

Here is the last leg of the climb! At times you are hiking on a ridge no wider than three feet wide. Also, you don't want to loose your footing because it is an 800 ft fall on the right and a 1200 ft fall on the left. In the picture on the right, you should be able to make out people hiking the ridge.

Not too bad of a view from the top huh? Our group sat up here for an hour. After the initial awe and excitement wore off, I am not sure we said more than just a few words. It was spiritual.

Okay, well there you have the first park. Next time I will post about the Grand Canyon and Mesa Verde. As for now, Lindsay and I are going to enjoy the sunny, hot, summer Saturday.

So it has begun...

Well, I have been saying for awhile that I wanted to start a blog, so here it is. Of course it will take a little time to get used to everything but at least I have taken the plunge. At this time in my life, there are great things happening and I want them documented. Of course, anyone who knows me knows that I am in my last couple (keep your fingers crossed) years of college in hopes of teaching high school. This will probably be one of the most posted subjects but I will try and throw others in to keep you and me entertained. For anyone who visits this blog and doesn't know me, here is a little info...My name is Christian Horner, I am 30 years old, married to a beautiful and wonderful lady named Lindsay. We live in a small town in Middle Tennessee outside of Nashville but closer to the East Tennessee Mtns. Both my wife and I are avid outdoor enthusiasts and when we are not in school or work, we are with our two labs (Boone and Riva) paddling, hiking, camping, or visiting family and friends.
The main reason for this blog is to account for my experiences as I grow through this next stage in life. The people that know me understand where I have come from and are anxious to see where I end up; I am too. My life is terribly busy right now and through this blog I hope to document as much as possible so if I miss anything, I can go back and look it up. This is also a way for my family and friends to keep up with what is going on in my life. If you don't know me, you should know that I have a great family and some of the best friends anyone could ask for. Sadly, as life continues, we seem to move to different parts of the world and it becomes harder to stay in touch. Another great aspect of blogging is that is gives others a chance to see someone else's perspective, experiences, troubles, etc. One of my hopes is that through technology, we as a world of cultures can be connected and grow new communities. This is the start of me opening the door to others to see who I am, and hopefully give me a chance to meet others as well.
Well, as my busy life beckons, I must get back to studying.