TCTW History

Teens' Camping Tour of the West Inc was born from the dream of C. Peter Cole to take teenagers to see the wonders of the West and use the adventure of travel to guide young people down the path of self-discovery. TCTW took its first trips West in 1967 in VW Busses. From the success of that summer, and years of labors of love by Peter Cole, Doug Gill, and current director Sassy Smyth, TCTW has expanded to the age of mini-busses, customized trailers and an informative websites. TCTW has accepted participants from all over the world, but finds its main draw from Virginia and the Carolinas.

In 2013 TCTW inducted its third director, Sassy Smyth. Through the years TCTW has molded its program to embody six significant principles: love yourself, love others, appreciate nature, realize that you have been given unique gifts, recognize that it is your responsibility to use those gifts to make your corner of the world a better place, all while giving praises to our maker. It is these six principles that we hope all participants will come to embrace and practice throughout their lives.

Our goal is leadership and spiritual development for teenagers with the notion that raising up spiritually strong leaders is part of building a better world. TCTW with over 4,000 past participants has proudly been engaged in this mission for 47 years.

Summer 2023 Info

COST: $3,275 This includes the $500 deposit that will be due at time of acceptance. The cost includes transportation, camping fees, Snake River float trip, Archway to the West admission, Cody Night Rodeo admission, T-shirt, and most meals (with the exception of lunch in San Diego, dinner in San Francisco, and Salt Lake City, and Breakfast at Wall Drug and Chicago). While we will try our best to keep the intinerary as close to possible as trips of our past, there will be some things that differ from previous summers. Each trip will have unique aspects based on availbility of activites, weather, etc and oftentimes these things are not predictable. So know that when you see an intinerary, it is based commonalities but often includes options that could vary from trip to trip. If there are major changes in advance, I will do my best to update you in advance.

Read more on how to apply below. Applications will be due March 1st, 2023. A $500 deposit will be required at the time of acceptance/April 1st at the latest. All trip fees are due May 22, 2023.

Financial assistance: In the past scholarships have been available, however this will not be the case this year. With Covid cancelling all trips in 2020 and having smaller trips since, we are ubable to offer scholarships as we are still recovering from the effects Covid had on our business. A payment plan may be an option. If this is something your family may need, please reach out to me at 704-657-5628 or [email protected] as soon as possible to determine if what you need is feasible for me this year.

COVID GUIDELINES AND POLICIES
From the past two years, we know that Covid protocols and guidance can change rapidly, so I like to put it out there that things very well may change between now and when we go out west. I will always put the safety of our participants and staff above everything else as well as the safety of the communities we visit. I learned from these past few summers we can do this successfully and safely making as little impact on the communities we travel to and that's a really good feeling going forward as this pandemic continues.

While things seem pretty stable right now, so much regarding the pandemic is still fluid. TCTW will follow ALL recommended guidelines. This could include mask wearing and social distancing when in public, following group size limitations for gatherings and picnicking, park/trail/beach closures, etc. At this point in time, it is impossible for me to tell you exactly what these policies will be in June and July. While I hope things will be "normal", it is our plan and commitment to follow the guidance of public health officials throughout the summer to protect ourselves and the communities through which we travel.

Our adherence to these guidelines and policies affects the relationships TCTW has with campgrounds, parks and the National Park Service in the future. It is my hope to continue to return to and be welcome in all the places we travel, and part of ensuring those relationships is doing what is asked of us.

I want us all to be in agreement and on the same page that we will follow the guidelines and help ensure a great summer not only for us, but the communities we travel through this summer as well.

If selected to travel with us this summer, you will receive detailed guidance on what this will look like closer to the trip and hopefully the update this year will be very minimal!

Vaccines: One of the biggest hurdles TCTW faces in regards to Covid and running a successful trip is what happens if someone on the trip has a close exposure, exhibits symptoms and/or tests positive for Covid. The nature of our trip and how we travel simply cannot accommodate quarantining (Quarantining would involve a parent flying to meet their child so that they can be quarantined while the trip travels on). Isolating one participant or even a whole van and continuing to travel would be next to impossible. An exposure could be trip ending for all of us. One solution to help reduce the likelohood of that occuring is being vaccinated and boosted. Even a small reduction in risk of infection is a meaningful reduction for a trip such as this where we have a compounded risk as we have so many individuals traveling with us. From a logistical standpoint, if there is a surge that causes the National Park Service to return to more strict Covid policies, we have the most flexibility when the group is vaccinated. As such, vaccination will be required for participants in 2023.

I understand the choice to vaccinate is a personal one, but with the way our tour is structured, this is the best option to help us have a successful trip. Each participant will have to provide proof of full vaccination in order to travel with us this summer.

All of the staff this summer will be vaccinated and boosted in order to give us the best chance at running an uninterrupted 23 day trip.

So how do you apply?

The staff still wants to get to know you a little and your applicatino is how we do that. Don't be nervous to be yourself. There is no "perfect participant" that we are looking for. We are lookingfor teens who are open and willing to let us get to know them. You'll apply through Active.com and can find the link below.

Who am I Paper or Video (required): This year you have the choice of telling us about yourself in a paper or a short video. If you want to write a who am I paper, awesome. Type it up/create a one page graphic(if you want to draw something or create something as your who am I, who am I to say do something different!, make it a pdf and upload it to your application on Active. If you'd prefer to make a short video, that's an option this year too. Here are a couple parameters, well one major one. It has to be 3 minutes or less. The rest is up to you. Tell us whatever you want about yourself.

Picture of Yourself(required): We just want to have a face to go with your name and application. Upload this to your application on Active, so make sure we can easily see your face. If there is more than just you in the picture, make sure we can easily tell which one is you.

Favorite Quote(required): This one is pretty easy. What's your favorite quote. There is a place in the supplemental forms part of your application to add this in.

Peer Recommendation and Adult Recommendation (required): You can submit one peer (that means a friend your age) and one adult (that means a grown up who isn't related to you) on your application on Active. If you ask someone, make sure they know you well and will put in the effort to write you a meaningful recommendation. While a crappy recommendation won't hurt your chances of getting an invitation to travel, having a good one really does help you! A good recommendation is just one more piece of info that the staff has to be drawn towards your application in the selection process. These are informal, so they can be returned to you. You can then upload them to you application on Active. If they prefer it be private, they can email them directly to me at [email protected].

All applications need to be submitted through Active.com. If the participant is under 18, a parent will need to create an Active account to complete the application. Please be sure to enter the teen's information and not the parent on the application (It will be referered to as registrant on the website). All components of the application (“Who am I” paper, favorite inspirational quote, recent photograph, letter of recommendation from a peer and letter of recommendation from an adult) should be uploaded to the Active account. Recommendations may be emailed directly to [email protected] if that is preferred by the author, but my preference is for you to upload it directly if they are willingto give you a copy. Applications should be completed by March 1, 2023. An application is not considered complete until all the components have been received. If you have problems with the application website at any point, contact Sassy at [email protected], so we can get it sorted out. Please write down your login and password and read and retain your confirmation email once registering (there are important instructions in there on logging back in to upload documents) to aid in getting back in and not creating duplicate applications.

Selection Process for Summer 2023

The staff will get together for a long weekend in March to review all of your applications. We will make trip selections that weekend and put invitations in the mail right after! There is no magic formula to an application. All 11 staff members will have a chance to review your application and something in your application just has to hook one of us! The staff all come to the table with different backgrounds and interests and are all drawn to different things in applicants. My best advice is to put in the effort to have your application really give us an idea of who you are in your life right now. The more we know about you, the more likely your application will catch our eyes. Be genuine and be yourself! There isn't a wrong way to do that and we are really excited to get to know you!

Apply Now

by ACTIVE Network

Invitations to travel with us in 2023 will be mailed by April 1st at the latest.

For the packing list, click HERE.

**authorized Permittee of the National Park Service**