7th grade Texas Tour Trip blends outdoor adventure with taste of state history

As the St. John’s Class of 2030 boarded buses headed for San Antonio at 7 a.m, many were still blinking sleep from their eyes. But the 7th graders soon found that they had no time for weariness on the Texas Tour, which lasted Monday, Sept. 23 through Thursday, Sept. 26.

The Texas Tour trip blended outdoor expeditions with explorations of famous Texas monuments, bringing the 7th grade American History and Earth Science curriculums to life. Over the course of four days, students visited San Antonio, Austin and the Hill Country. The entire grade toured the Alamo and Texas State Capitol while splitting into smaller groups for hikes, kayaking and trips to various art and history museums. The trip concluded with a Thursday-morning tour of the Natural Bridge Caverns outside of San Antonio — one of 7th grader Ethan Cen’s favorite memories.

“It was really cool to see how the stalagmites were shaped and to remember how the water had done so many decisive things to the environment,” Cen said.

For her small group activity on Tuesday, 7th grader Sandhya Sheth chose to hike and rappel at Enchanted Rock. Fastened in a harness with a rope anchored above her, Sheth tried her hand at descending vertical rock faces for the first time. Yet Sheth’s rappelling group faced their greatest difficulty in finding their way back to the bus.

“We were following these little signs, and then they disappeared. We could see the path a little further down, but before it was this huge expansive boulder,” Sheth said. Her group climbed down the boulder to meet the other group of rappellers, who had found the path from the top.

Students visited the Natural Bridge Caverns on the final day of the trip. (Credit: Natural Bridge Caverns website)

In previous years, the Class of 2030 had taken trips to the sleepaway camps of Mo Ranch and T Bar M, but Cen said that the Texas Tour consisted of a more packed schedule.

“Previously, we mainly did the activities the camp had, like zip lines and swimming,” Cen said. “For the Texas Tour, we were a lot more mobile, which let us experience new things.”

According to Sheth, she interacted with more of her classmates over the Texas Tour than at Mo Ranch and T Bar M. 

On other class trips, “there was a set activity group that you were with day after day,” Sheth said. “This time, it depended on who signed up for the same things. I was with a different group at the Capitol than I was on the walking tour.”

Ultimately, Sheth is taking home several lessons — and not all of them relate to hiking or Texas history.

“I got over my fear of crickets,” Sheth said, “and I learned that if you have to mass produce pancakes for breakfast, they're probably not going to taste amazing.”