Over hill, over dale…As we hit the dusty trail…

And hit the dusty trail campers did, the week of 17-21 July, all the way to Camp Perry.  The HIKE begins at 0800 with everyone’s canteen FULL of water, through fields and dirt farm tracks, serenaded by overhead ‘flocks’ of seagulls and other feathered friends, an occasional ground squirrel or Texas-sized jackrabbit scurrying across their path, and the ever-abundant company of those pesky, annoying microscopic insects. Cloudy skies and the early-morning Gulf winds made this year’s hike relatively comfortable, although most campers’ canteens were nearly drained by the time the towering gates of Camp Perry loomed directly ahead.

Arriving at Camp Perry, campers take advantage of “R & R time” equation: Rest and Refuge = Recovery! -  in the camp’s Scout Crafts Pavilion cool shade until 1120 rolls around … BOX LUNCH time … and a cold sandwich looks as good to these campers as a grilled t-bone steak!

At 12 noon Round Robin activities begin.  All campers rotate through learning archery (the competition begins with the challenge of who can aim and land all their arrows ANYWHERE on the target, evolving to who achieves a BULLS-EYE to earn full bragging rights of the day!); cooling off in the camp pool – for some a little horseplay and for the more serious swimmer a lap lane; finishing up the day with instruction on how to launch a canoe properly, how to recover should you find yourself UNDER the canoe, how to row effectively, finishing up with a fevered race up river and back to the dock. Campers are shuttled in ‘luxury’ (Academy vans) back to Marine Military for a shower and a bit of R&R before 3^rd Mess.  Ahhhhhhh… a camper’s bunk is his best friend at day’s end!!!

Situated on 240 acres on the Arroyo Colorado River two miles outside of the town of Rio Hondo,  Camp Perry offers 13 campsites with all the usual facilities, such as tables, toilets, showers, and water.  The camp is the oldest continuously run camp in Texas and has been in existence for 76 years.