Vista Camps

Vista Summer Camps in Hunt, Texas
Camp Rio Vista for Boys | Camp Sierra Vista for Girls
(830) 367-5353| CONTACT US

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Vista Family Weekend & Open House!

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Spring Family Weekend

2013 Spring Family Weekend

April 26-28

 Time for families of current, future and past campers to gather in the beautiful Texas Hill Country for a relaxing and fun weekend at the annual Vista Camps Family Weekend. New families interested in our programs will have the opportunity to experience our facilities, activities and meals, meet us and see what we have to offer your children. The “experienced” families will have the chance to enjoy our wonderful facilities, rekindle friendships and gear up for the summer ahead. Bring the family, invite your friends, or come alone, but please come! Don’t miss out on all the fun! Registration Deadline: April 19th, 2013.

Cabins: Families will stay in one of our many cabins. Bunkhouse style: We assign cabins to fathers & sons, and mothers & daughters. If we have mother-son or father-daughter combinations, we will have staff on hand to help supervise the child in the cabin and during the night. Family Cabin: Family and friends can share a cabin up to 10 people.

Meals: Four meals will be served starting with a hearty Saturday breakfast and ending with Sunday brunch. We will have snacks available for those who plan to arrive Friday evening, however you should plan to eat dinner before you arrive.

What to Bring: You will need a twin sheet set & blanket, or a sleeping bag, pillow, towels, shorts, t-shirts, jeans, tennis shoes, water shoes or flip flops, bathing suit, pajamas, socks, underwear, personal items, & toiletries. You may bring a small electric fan if the weather is expected to be hot, but you may need a light jacket or rain poncho. Cabins do have heat, if necessary. You never know Texas weather!

Price: Bunkhouse Style: $250 per first couple and $50 for each additional person. Family Cabin: $300 up to the first two people and $50 for each additional person, up to 10 people total. Singles: $100 per person. Singles under 18 must attend with a parent.  Children 2 years old and younger are free. The price includes lodging, meals, snacks, activities, special programs, and a t-shirt for all participants over the age of 2. Please include t-shirt sizes on the reservation

Deadline: Registration deadline is April 19th, 2013. Full payment is due at that time. Payment may be made by check or credit card (MasterCard, Discover or Visa). Late registrations will be accepted if space is available, but those participants cannot be guaranteed a t-shirt.

 Register Now to save your spot! You can e-mail the registration form to me at sarak [at] vistacamps [dot] com or fax it to 830-367-4044.

Family Weekend Registration

 

 

Vista Valentines Ideas

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Howdy, friends! Did you know that there are only 120 days until Opening Day?? That means you only have 119 days to pack, fill out the pre-camp forms, find the perfect SUPERHERO costume, invite a friend to camp, and everything else you have to do to get ready for the BEST Summer EVER!!

We found a great article in the Houston Family Magazine about Creative Valentine’s Day Fun for Kids and wanted to share some of our favorite ideas with you!

Beth’s Favorite – Lunchtime Love: Pack your little cutie’s lunch with all things Valentine. A heart shaped PB&J, a little flat rock with “You ROCK My World” written on it, a lollipop with the words “I’m a SUCKER for you” on the tag… so many fun ideas here. And you know your kids (or friends) will love it!

Sara’s Favorite- Family Date Night: Find an age-appropriate romantic comedy (I just LOVE Lady and the Tramp… that scene when they meet for a smooch while eating spaghetti.. melts my heart!) Get a yummy pizza and cut it into a big HEART, drink sparkling grape juice out of fancy glasses, and remember to tell your kids how much you love them!

Michael’s Favorite- Steak night at the house. (You really can’t get go wrong with steaks on the patio.)

Justin’s Favorite- One Valentine’s day, Justin’s sweet fiance, Diane, gave him a bag of Riesen Chocolates… she had taken out about 1/2 the candies and filled the bag with little slips of paper that had all the different reasons she loved Justin! (Get it… Risens/Reasons?!) How sweet!

Have a wonderful weekend, our precious Vista Family! XOXO

A Note From Carl Hawkins – Updated 2/15

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carl 001

 

To: Old time, Long time, Rio Vista Alumni

From: Carl Hawkins, Owner/Director, Tired & Retired

Subject: NEED YOUR HELP!!!

 

Do you realize that Rio Vista will soon reach the prestigious old age of 100 years? Many thousands of boys and young men have matured at RV. Their camp experiences have had a positive and lasting influence on their lives. I am in the process of compiling a brief history of Rio Vista and need your help! There are so many individual stories to be told, to be shared, to be passed down and treasured. I would like to make them a part of RV History.

Here is what I am looking for:

1. Brief, humorous, moving, stories about your experiences as a camper and/or counselor.

2. How has your RV experience influenced your life?

3. I’m interested in any positive memories which you have about your time at RV.

4. Please be sure to include your name, years you attended camp, address, and cell phone number.

Addition:::::: Please be sure to add your Name, Years you were here at RV, and Tribe.

I would like to have a section of the RV History Book to include your stories. Please Help!

You can e-mail them to sarak [at] vistacamps [dot] com, fax them to 830-367-4044, or mail them to Carl Hawkins, 175 Rio Vista Rd, Ingram Texas 78025.

Thank you in advance!

Vista Press Release!

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Remember when I said you should be on the lookout for some exciting news from Vista Camps??!

Well HERE it is! We would like to formally announce that we have a new Rio Vista Camp Director! We are so excited to bring back to the team……. (drum roll please) …… Michael Hawkins!!  He has hit the ground running and is on the recruiting trail looking for the best of the best in camp counselors. As many of you know, Michael is son to the beloved Freddie and Chaille Hawkins. Michael grew up at Rio Vista, was a camper and counselor, and after working out in the “real world” for a while, is returning to his roots! We are pumped that he will be leading Rio Vista this summer with all of the amazing traditions and making it the best summer ever! He brings with him his sweet and lovable wife, Elizabeth Vinyard Hawkins, and his adorable son, Hudson. I can’t wait for you to get to know his sweet family. You are going to LOVE them!

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We are also SUPER excited and blessed and happy to welcome Diane Abbott, soon to be Diane Hawkins!! to the Vista Team! Diane has had many years in the camping industry and is going to join us in the next couple of months at her new camp home. I’ve already heard some testimony from friends and co-workers of hers that they are heartbroken to lose her but they are so excited about where the Lord is taking her. And I am just giddy that she will be here! Diane is someone that you can’t help but admire with her joy of life and her tender heart. I’ve literally got goosebumps typing this out. She will be helping in lots of areas of camp and will be Justin’s right hand girl. How sweet! We sure do have some good looking couples around here! You’re going to love Diane and her spunky little Taylor!

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So now that you are all spinning around from excitement with all the changes at Vista Camps, go out and spread some of that Vista Love!

Songs from the Vista Vault!

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If you’ve ever been a camper or counselor at Rio Vista or Sierra Vista, you know what the Vista Spirit is all about!

♫♪ The Rio Vista Spirit, it is the best! ♪ ♫

and…

♪♫ Sierra Vista, we got it all, HEY! ♪♫

But if you’ve been here for a long time, you also know “The Cat Came Back… the very next day…” and “Country Roads, take me home….”

A sweet and long-time friend just sent me 21 Pages of Vista History! I’m going to post some songs on here for you to enjoy and will post more later. Some of you will have to get some tissue, because you’ll be swept back in time… to a place where the Guadalupe was your swimming pool and Sundays meant Becky’s famous cinnamon rolls for breakfast and fried chicken for lunch! Where you felt like you were “home” in the middle of the beautiful Texas Hill Country with your 2nd family.. your Vista family! I can still remember singing some of these songs in the dining hall. I remember some of my HEROS leading the songs from the front (Susan Bernstein and Megan Ross!!) and feeling like I was on top of the world when they would grab me by the hand to have me help lead with them. It’s amazing to now be able to see the older campers loving and encouraging the young’ns the way those heroes of mine did. They have no idea what an impact they have on those precious Fort and Hawks campers. It melts my heart. MAN, I love camp! Okay, so enough about that… here are a couple Vista Oldies! Enjoy!

The Cat Came Back
Old Mr. Johnson had troubles of his own
He had an old yellow cat that wouldn’t leave home
And he tried and he tried to give the cat away
So he gave it to a man who lived far away
But the cat came back the very next day
Yeah the cat came back
You know we thought he was a goner
But the cat came back
And he just wouldn’t stay away
So he sold him to a man who lived in LA
And he put him out to play on a busy freeway
And cars swerved to the left and the swerved to the right
And forty-seven cars piled up that night
But the cat came back the very next day
Yeah the cat came back
You know we thought he was a goner
But the cat came back
And he just wouldn’t stay away
So he sold him to a boy for a ten dollar note
And he took him to the river in his little paddleboat
And he tied him to a rock that must’ve weighed ten pounds
Next day they dragged the river for a boy who’d drowned
But the cat came back the very next day
Yeah the cat came back
You know we thought he was a goner
But the cat came back
And he just wouldn’t stay away
So he sold him to the butcher who lived down the street
And he put him in his grinder to grind him up for meat
And he ground and he ground ‘til he heard a terrible shriek
And all the meat in town tasted furry for a week
But the cat came back the very next day
Yeah the cat came back
You know we thought he was a goner
But the cat came back
And he just wouldn’t stay away

Sardines
Sardines, yeah
And pork and beans, yeah
I had a friend, yeah
Who’s in the pen, yeah
And what’d he’d do, yeah
Nobody knew, yeah
And on the roof, yeah
100 proof, yeah
And on the table, yeah
Black Label, yeah
And all you need, yeah
Is sardines, yeah
AND PORK AND BEANS, yeah
And Coca-Cola, yeah
And Grape Soda, nooooooooooooo

 

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