2007 SouthWest Adventure

First off...Welcome to the Blog!

I'm Amanda, a would-be journalist, and I'll be doing most of the blogging along with John. He's a photographer for the Hickory Daily Record and unless otherwise noted, all of the photos are courtesy of his artful eye.

A Little Background: This site was created in order to document Catawba Valley Community College's SouthWest Adventure. The program began a few years ago when faculty member Mike Jenkins wanted to share his experiences from the southwestern U.S. He wanted others to be able to study and appreciate the area's Native Americans and their culture. In 2000, he implemented the SouthWest Adventure program. Since then, every year CVCC's Foundation chooses 10 students to be accompanied by instructors on a learning experience like no other.

The Setup: 10 students and 4 faculty members spend 11 days driving and visiting various points of interest in the southwestern U.S. Emphasis is placed on areas important to Native American history and sites include the Aztec ruins, Grand Canyon, and Mesa Verde.

The Real Setup: For all means and purposes, we are all strangers. We've only had a few classes together and one practice hike and we really do not know each other. We've all seen Real World and Road Rules and we think we know what we're getting into, but we also know what happens on those shows...when people stop being polite...and starting getting well, you know. Real.
We plan to let everyone witness the realness by keeping this daily blog. In addition, the whole thing will be preserved in a documentary. (Yep, do some quick imaging. That's 14 grown people and all their stuff for 11 days on the road, laptops and gear to get online, still and video cameras, tripods and other equipment, all crammed into a standard 15 passenger van.)

Cast of Characters:
Students:

Name: Joshua “Josh” Boone
Age: 22
Occupation: Server
Major: Nursing
Hobbies/Interests: loves the outdoors and tennis

Name: Jessica Childers
Age: 19
Occupation: ChildWatch at YMCA
Major: History
Hobbies/Interests: riding horses, reading, spending time w/friends

Name: Christina “Christy” Daniels
Age: 24
Occupation: Barista
Major: History
Hobbies/Interests: swimming, dancing, and spending time w/friends and lab named Samson

Name: Gary “Bear” Eckland
Age: 67 (and holding)
Occupation: Retired
Major: Whatever he wants to study
Hobbies/Interests: “Everything except sex… and mainstream religion”

Name: Derval “Dale” Hamilton
Age: 22
Occupation: Activity Assistant at retirement home
Major: Information Systems
Hobbies/Interests: hiking, bike riding, ping-pong, watching TV and swimming (well, wading since he can’t really swim)

Name: Amanda Higgins
Age: 27
Occupation: Library Assistant
Major: Journalism
Hobbies/Interests: Reading, writing, living, loving

Name: Mark Huffman
Age: 30
Occupation: Server
Major: Horticulture (Graduates the day before we leave!!)
Hobbies/Interests: plants, people, baking, and sewing quilts and blankets

Name: Christopher “Chris” Reidel
Age: 20
Occupation: Student
Major: History
Hobbies/Interests: reading histories and fiction, watching 70s films, listening to music

Name: John Setlzer, Jr
Age: 38
Occupation: Photographer
Major: Radiography
Hobbies/Interests: seriously into photography and blogging

Name: Jerry “Nicole” Whitener
Age: 21
Occupation: Barista
Major: Sociology (Graduates from CVCC this May!!)
Hobbies/Interests: hard-core music lover

Faculty:

Name: Bobbie Brannon
Occupation: Sociology Professor
Hobbies/Interests: spending time w/husband riding motorcycles, doing yard work, and sewing

Name: Fred Bryson
Occupation: Sociology Professor (soon to be missed, he’s retiring!)
Hobbies: marathon walking and running

Name: Richard Eller
Occupation: History Professor
Hobbies/Interests: 70s rock and history fanatic, author, and producer of documentaries (including a new one about this trip!)

Name: Claudia Ward-Eller
Occupation: Recruitment and Advising Coordinator for Appalachian State University
Hobbies/Interests: wonderful wife of 22 years (to Richard Eller), mother of 2 college age children (one graduates ASU this May and the other is currently enrolled at CVCC)

Well, that's the basic info on the trip and the travelers. We leave this Saturday, May 5, and get back on May 16th. Barring any unforeseen technical difficulties, we plan on being able to post every day we're gone. Check out my honest commentary on the day's activities and seeing will be believing with John's fabulous photos.