Teens Westward Bound is an organization that takes 82 teenager across America on a charter bus and two vans for a month. No technology, we were in charge of chores, and camping every night. It was the most memorable thing I have ever done.
I went on Teens Westward Bound in 2013. When I got accepted I was so nervous because I did not have a friend to go with. It turns out that was the best part! I made sooo many new friends, 82 to be exact, and not having technology to burry our faces in made it even better! I now have memories and inside jokes that will last a lifetime. This blog story is about my experiences and pictures across the USA, and if you’re a future TDubber, there is a post coming soon about what to expect, advised by past TDubber’s, on my site.
*pictures do not do any justice to the beauty of America, and they neither tell the thousands of memories that we shared, nor do they let you feel the amount of love we have for each other.*
Day 1: Davidson to Alabama
Today, we said goodbye to our families and loaded up. We were all super nervous, but that ended quickly when Dennis talked with us and as the counselors started up a game of speed dating. We made a pit stop in South Caroline, and continued to drive through the storm to LaGrange college where we will be staying the night. As we unloaded and set up to camp on the field, we listened to the presentation on this location. Once the cooks were done with dinner and we had our first sing-a-long, the rain came. We all grabbed our bags and ran for shelter in the gym. We ended the night playing games to get to know our groups! My group had to stay up late to finish the blog.
Day 2: Alabama to Louisiana
As we were awakened at 5:45 this morning, we loaded the van and headed towards Louisiana. Making a pit stop at Auburn University and Walmart, we made it to New Orleans while also getting a gourmet PB&J sandwich. We dipped our toes in the Mississippi, tried Beignets at Cafe Du Monde, (the counselors went around and blew powder in our faces) toured the St. Louis Cathedral, took a picture on Bourbon Street, and then were set free to tour the city on our own. My new friends and I went in gift shops, got our palms read, and tried gumbo! For $10, I was informed that I was “athletic, don’t trust much, needed to let go of my past, had a great economical future, bright, and strong.” I am supposedly getting married at 26, having 2 boys and a girl, and will die at age 86. In my journal, I added that if I fell off the Grand Canyon to go get my $10 back 🙂 Also, my friend, Madison, and I were approached by a bouncer that said “if y’all have any good fake IDs I’ll let you in.” We were able to sleep on indoors, away from mosquitos, on actual mattresses (whattttt) at Fontainebleau State Park tonight! After a spaghetti meal, our groups presented our Dixie skit to the song “Dixie.” “I really opened up to people tonight.”
Day 3: Louisiana to Texas
At 4:45 we headed towards the Alamo. We passed through the town where “Duck Dynasty” is filmed, and had sing-a-longs to every genre of music. Once in San Antonio, we toured the Alamo, and headed to the River Walk. We stuck our toes in the water, snapped a pic, and then the counselors set us free to explore the town. In one of the stores, we found edible bugs and we thought it would be a good idea to try some. They tasted pretty good. As non-TWBer’s walked by, we pretended that we picked them off the street and ate them.. We got some pretty hilarious looks. We loaded up and headed towards Schreiner University where we will be staying the night. While the rest of the group played games in the gym, we stayed out and wrote the blog, along with some pranks by tying all the shoes to mismatched shoes 🙂
Day 4: Texas to New Mexico
At 5 this morning we loaded up and headed to New Mexico. “It was breathtaking scenery of HUGE ranches!” With more dance parties and card games, we arrived at the Carlsbad Caverns. It had such beautiful views, but the bat poop was something fierce. After hiking in and out of the caverns by a tour guide, a total of 3 miles, we headed to yet another Walmart, which was of course Area 51 decorated. Tonight, we camped on the New Mexico Military Institute field. Many of us played on their workout equipment, until the rain ran us into the gym! Unfortunately, we did not see any UFOs.
Day 5: New Mexico to Arizona
Today, we drove 654 miles across New Mexico to Arizona and visited the Painted Desert and Petrified Forest. We only made one pitstop on the side of the road for a… we’ll just keep that between the 83 of us 😉 It was breathtaking how huge and beautiful these places were; I had never seen anything like it! As we finished these tours, we loaded the bus again and finally arrived at the Grand Canyon just in time to see the sunset! it. was. spectacular. All of our nerves were shot just thinking about tomorrow; some were excited, some were nervous. I was soo ready for the hike bright and early tomorrow!! We settled into our campsite and prepared our backpacks with snacks to carry us through the long and hot hike tomorrow.
Day 6: Arizona (Grand Canyon Day!!)
Believe it or not, I was FREEZING last night!! We woke up at 3:30 am, we went to the start of the hike where we stretched and divided into groups by how far you wanted to hike down. My group (going the 6-mile hike all the way to the bottom, Plateau Point) left around 4:25. The leaders were very good about making sure we were staying hydrated, yelling out “DRINK!!!” after each switchback/15 steps. All the water that was coming into our system made us have to pee a lot. When we reached the first bathroom, the toilets were very scary! Haha really, it was a hole that went down so far! I will never forget the feeling of pure shock when we arrived at the bottom and turning around for the first time to see how far I came. I could not, and still can not, believe we hiked that entire way. After making record time, we reached the bottom and spent plenty of time taking it all it. Again, pictures do NOT give this place justice. We hiked back up, completely covered in orange dust and dirt, and made it back to our campsite where some of the counselors and Dennis have been making the famous “Dennis Stew.” That is a pot full of everything, literally everything, that we have left in our food bins. In my bowl, I had Oreos, Doritos, and Lord knows what else. After we ate, and only after we ate, we were allowed to call home for the first time. Of course no one answered though. Not my parents, grandparents, or my friend… Miss y’all too!! We were all exhausted, so we hit the sleeping bags and rested up!
“It seemed unreal, but the soreness was definitely real. It was a great experience though!” –MC Dellinger (Kings Mountain, NC)
Day 7: Arizona to Nevada
After the exhausting hike yesterday, we were allowed to sleep-in and we had time to shower, wash clothes, and hangout. Me and my friends rode around the campground on their bus. After loading up the vans, Dennis led us through a meeting and prayer for where He has taken us so far, and where He will continue taking us. As we drove past the Hoover Dam, the bus filled with sayings such as “What did the fish say when it swam into the wall? Dam!” We pulled into UNLV and got a tour and information of that place. Our groups performed our chants which we planned on the ride, and Bashful’s were the winners!! (WOOPWOOP) As we pulled into Vegas, everyone was so excited. The lights, the people, all the attractions; it was amazing! We went as a group to Caesar’s Palace and then split into groups for the night.My group ate dinner at a little restaurant and received doughnuts by becoming friends with the waiter! We walked around the city and acted crazy! (I guess that’s what Vegas does to you haha) As a dare, I had to go up to random teens and ask “Is your name Hoover? Cause dammmmm!” Just past midnight, we met at the busses and headed to a Walmart where we brushed our teeth and got ready for the night on the bus. It was not one of my favorite sleeping places!
Day 8: Nevada to California
We woke up at 6 looking out the bus windows and seeing the Santa Monica beach! After changing into our bathing suits, and my group cooking breakfast of french toast, we split and were allowed to do whatever. Many of us laid on the beach, shopped on the pier, or went downtown to explore. It was a chilly day, but none the less amazing! We ate at Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. and went back for group games on the sand! We headed to Anaheim where we will be camping in an RV park. Once there, my group went grocery shopping and managed to spend $420!! We made dinner then hung out in the pools and hot tub, and used pay phones. As we got ready for the night, we could see fireworks from Disney Land, which made us excited for tomorrow!!
Day 9: CALI
At 7 am, we eagerly walked a couple blocks to Disney Land! After pranking us participants by saying they left the tickets, we made it inside the gates and to some of the rides we did as a group! Our last group ride was having technical difficulties, so we decided to imitate a roller coaster in line and did sing-a-longs. The counselors gave us a competition to see who could collect the most receipts; yes, we had to go up to strangers and ask if we could have their receipts. Once we split into groups, my group went to eat lunch which consisted of a $32 pizza! We spent the entire day riding rides and having so much fun!! We rode tons of rides and bonded so much. For dinner, we left the park and went to a nearby Denny’s. This being my first time out west into high-populated cities, I saw a lot of poverty that I was not used to. It really made an impact on my heart, and shaped my future. I gave my leftovers to a homeless woman and I will never forget the smile on her face. At the end of the day, my group decided to leap-frog across the park before it was time to leave! The counselors gave us a curfew of 12, so we had loads of fun all night!!
Day 10: CALI
This morning, we saw the Hollywood sign and got to go to the Hollywood Bowl. While we listened to presentations and information about this town, we got ready for the ultimate prank. Once we got downtown, we bought souvenirs, and saw the stars on the street. Two counselors were dressed up “fancy” and as they walked down the Hollywood Road, all 80 of us teenagers would run up screaming, asking for autographs, and telling bystanders that they were in movies. It got sooo packed that security had to come to clear the sidewalk. After shopping and seeing the stars concrete places, we got back on the bus and we headed to UCLA to meet up with a former T-Dubber, and shopped at the campus bookstore. We camped at one of the most beautiful places on the coast El Capitan Beach, with beach access. We spent lots of time on the beach watching the sunset, and went back for a sing-a-long and cookout. While in our sleeping bags before bed, we looked at the beautiful stars.
Day 11: CALI
Today we traveled up California Highway One. We had a pitstop at Ragged Point which was picture-perfect. We kept on driving and looking at the beautiful scenery of the coast. We had lunch and drove until Monterey. We got to see some of their beautiful views, and bought souvenirs and coffee. Me, Patricia, and Kensi all bought matching hats and shirts. We left and headed towards the church we will be staying at in San Francisco. For showers that night, we had to run across the street to the YMCA.
Day 12: CALI
This morning, we made our way to The Cliff House for some poppers and orange juice for breakfast. We had a first hand tour and information about the city presented to us from the chef. It was a foggy and chilly morning as we drove into San Fran and got our first glimpse of the Golden Gate Bridge. We walked to the Fisherman’s Wharf, which is where I was assigned to present about, and began the day there. My group waited there for an old friend of Patricia’s who now lived there. We tried the BEST clam chowder, and then left to navigate the city. With no luck finding a trolly, we went into a UPS store for directions. We finally made it to China Town, and we were invited into a store where we could sample different herbal teas… It definitely was not the usual sweet tea we were used to! After some more shopping, we laid out in the park. We attempted to find the Coit Tower and the Full House, but got lost again. We resorted to a fire department and made new friends as we talked with them for a while. We passed by the Princess Diary hill, and as we were walking down a back alley, we walked on set of Murder on First!! After being chased off set, we made it to the Four Seas for my first ever Chinese meal! Afterwards, we all walked across the Golden Gate Bridge with a view of Alcatraz! Our group was challenged to walk across and count how many people you can hold hands with!
Day 13: CALI
When we woke up today, my new chore was site mangers so we cleaned before we left the church. As we drove to Yosemite National Park, we played games and spent time with each other, and at a pit stop we saw free puppies and named one “Dubber.” When we arrived, we got on a bus shuttle that took us to top. We hiked a little bit to see the HUGE trees. It was really hot (record high!!) so we quickly got pictures and headed back down. We made a stop at inspiration point before climbing again to Bridal Veil Falls. I twisted my ankle, unfortunately. At our campsite, we had a meeting about bears since the site was filled with them! We had to pack anything that had any kind of scent or food into bins to prevent them from smelling it. After a delicious sloppy joe dinner, we explored the campground and some of us found pay phones. Many of us stayed up late that night on the watch-out for bears, yet we never saw any.
Day 14: California to Utah
We were able to sleep in today before we set out for a long day of riding! The scenery was beautiful as we left Yosemite. During the drive, we stopped at the grossest, most horrible-smelling bathrooms ever!! 3 years later and the smell still lingers.Driving thru Nevada is about as exciting as it sounds, but luckily we had 82 friends that we could play games with! We made it the Salt Flats of Utah, and some of us licked to see if it was really salty.. it was an unpleasant taste! We arrived at the Dow James Boys and Girls Club where we will be staying the night. Some of us played football while others went to the playground outside.
Day 15: Utah
After waking up at 8 am, we made it to the Mormon Tabernacle in Salt Lake City where some of the Sisters gave us a tour. We went to the largest mall in Utah afterwards until 12:30. We were able to get Wi-Fi if we hung around the Apple store, THERE WAS A CHICK-FIL-A, we bought 4th of July outfits, and also had a funny picture contest! We left and headed towards Bear Lake, excited for the fact that we will finally be able to shower after 3 days!! Our usual pitstop to Walmart, and jams on the bus, and we were there in no time! We took a dip in bear lake and were able to open letters/packages from our family and friends. We all cherished anything from home.
Day 16: Utah to Wyoming
At 5:45, we loaded up and arrived at Jackson Hole at 10! It was such a cute little town, and we were able to walk around to the little shops and restaurants. After lunch, we headed to Yellowstone National Park. We stopped at the Chapel of Transfiguration with the most beautiful view of the snowy Grand Tetons and had time to reflect with each other. Old Faithful proved to be faithful, just a little late though. We left to go view a beautiful waterfall, and we got to witness some wildlife up close! Seriously, the buffalo trapped some of our campers in the bathrooms!! After pictures, we were finally on our way to our campsite for the night!
Day 17: Wyoming
At 6:45, we woke up and left the campsite to go white water rafting down the Shoshone River!! After getting life jackets and our sponsorship Southern Tide croakies (SHOUTOUT) we were on the tour guide busses towards the rafts. One of our busses broke down, but eventually everyone made it down. The 82 of us were split into 8 groups, and we embarked down the freezing cold river. I decided to jump in, and I quickly climbed back into the raft!! Once the class three rapids wore us out, we went back to the campsite where our counselors had a warm breakfast prepared for us. The afternoon was relaxing and we were able to wash clothes, phone home, or hangout in the grass and warm sun. I was able to pick up some WiFi and FaceTime my best friend, Blakely. Many of us were getting prepared for the rodeo that night which we left for after our chicken nugget/mac-n-cheese dinner. At 6, we left to go downtown to watch a gun show. Some of us killed some time by shopping around before going to the rodeo in the rodeo capital of the world. The rodeo was amazing!! Once back at the campground for the night, we got some ice cream from Dairy Queen, and star gazed until we fell asleep.
Day 18: Wyoming to South Dakota
IT’S THE FOURTH OF JULY!!!! Every TDubbers favorite holiday!! We packed up, wearing only red/white/blue, and headed towards Custer. It was a long drive, but Dennis entertained us with his playlist. Finally in Custer, we were informed that there would be yet another dance competition. We made up a dance to “Magic.” We were then led up a secret trail up the Black Hills of Custer and it was amazing, until the rain chased us down! Once back at the bottom, we were able to shop around the town or play volleyball while the cooks prepared dinner. We left to put our belongings down in the log cabin YMCA where we would be staying the night, and grabbed our jackets to head to Mt. Rushmore. It was incredible to see how huge the rock actually is and how much work and detail were put into creating it. We were challenged to recreate a mock-picture of the presidents before we went to the amphitheater to watch a documentary about the place and watch as veterans were recognized. It was a wonderful and touching night for all of us because we were realizing how much love we have for America through this month, and it meant a lot to recognize the people that fought to protect it.
Day 19: South Dakota to Colorado
At 5:45 we were woken up to singing, and were on the road again. We had breakfast and lunch, and held a trivia game to see who would win seconds. After 2 hours, we made it to the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs. After an informational video, we headed to the Chapel where we witnessed a wedding going on. We toured the lower half so we did not disrupt the wedding, and listened to a friend who attends the academy tell us about her experience there. We ran back to the bus as it started to pour, but before we left we had to kiss a cadet on the cheek. We drove over to the US Olympic Training Center where we visited the gift shop and were able to see the Sports and Conditioning Room, the Aquatic Center, the Shooting Range, and the Hall of Fame. We left to go to our site for the night, Colorado College. We settled in the gym, and were surprised with Dominos pizza! I was so happy to be able to call one of my best friends, Gracie, back home to wish her a happy birthday! That night, our groups coordinated with one another for another dance battle. It was hilarious watching everyone, who none have boundaries or comfort zones by now! The Happy’s won that one.
Day 20: Colorado to Kansas
At 5:45, we woke up and drug our items to the bus. The counselors played bagpipe music and dog whistles to keep us up as pay-back. Finally done with revenge, we slept for a few hours. We had breakfast and had dance parties and watched movies, until we made a picture stop at an oilrig. After more movies and many more miles of field, we arrived at Kansas State University for a picture. Our counselors bought an inflatable whale (because who wouldnt?!) and it became known as “Big Willy.” We arrived at our campsite, Tuttle Creel Campground, in Manhattan, Kansas. My group was bus packers, so we did that as the cooks prepared dinner and others played football. After dinner, we played a game where each group chose a “hugger” and each member had to hug them hard enough to pop a balloon. We hung out by the lake for the night after the sing-a-long, and slept under the starry sky.
Day 21: Kansas to Illinois
At 6:30, we left the site and slept for a couple hours. At our pit stop, we filled Black Beauty and also ourselves as the cooks prepared a sandwich lunch. Back on the bus, and a Walmart stop later, we made it to the Gateway to the West in St. Louis, Missouri. After gift shopping, fudge buying (inside joke), and waiting in line, we were crammed into the pods that took us 630 ft up. It was an incredible view, and back at the bottom, we were able to spell out words for our counselors at the top, as seen in the featured picture. “EHH..” Once at our campsite, we coated our body in bug spray. Me and a few others went on a jog in order to prepare for soccer practice for once I get back home. We did other exercises and DAVID and Gore could even bench press me!! We hung out by the lake before dinner and spent time with each other as we realized what was about to happen..
Day 22: Illinois to Kentucky
We woke up at 6 to head towards Churchill Downs. This time, no one slept because we wanted to spend as much time as possible before tomorrow. We arrived at 11:15, and watched a documentary on a 360 degree screen before splitting into two groups to tour the famous horse track. We saw horses, and the horse hall of fame, and tried on floppy hats in the gift shop. After leaving, we drove to the original KFC for some delicious dinner. We toured the restaurant, and then left for our campsite at Levi Jackson State Park to prepare our final skit. The overall competition winners were tallied up, and it was the Grumpy’s! We had our final sing-a-long, and tears were shed. We stayed up late with each other in the cabins, and me and my friends went around pranking other TDubbers!! It was a long night filled with emotions.
Day 23: Kansas to Home Sweet Home
The most dreaded day. We woke up at 6 and packed up Black Beauty one last time. No one slept on the bus, and we stopped at Walmart for our final breakfast. Contact information was given out, shirts were signed, and pictures were being taken like crazy. We did have a stop to give us all a chance to say our goodbyes and one more sing-a-long. We all hugged and cried like crazy. It did not seem real that this was the last time all together. We were forced back on the bus, and drove to Davidson college were our families greeted us. We saw signs and family members welcoming us home, but we were all extremely sad and chanted to “turn the bus around.” We all hugged our parents, mine didn’t even recognize me, and went back to sing as a group to our parents.
Day 24: Home Sweet Home
“This has been a once in a lifetime opportunity to see God’s amazing beauty and I’m so blessed to be able to experience it with so many awesome people.” 2013
-MC Dellinger, Kings Mountain, NC
M See the World 
I’m so glad you documented your trip, although it makes me feel old! I was a Bashful on trip 1 back in 2003 and took pictures with a camera that used film *gasp*(lol)! Nothing compares to the moments we had as friends discovering the beautiful country we call home. So glad to hear that teens are still taking this wonderful journey and glad I got to be a part of it!
LikeLike
Thank you, and woohoo team Bashful!! It’s the best trip ever, I hope it continues forever!
LikeLike