BUCKET LIST UPDATE No. 179: Ride a camel

"John Henry the Camel"

I think the first time that I ever saw a real camel up close was when my fifth-grade class took a field trip to the zoo in Montgomery, Ala. Years later, in 2003 and 2004, I spent a year or so in Iraq and Kuwait and saw more than a few camels during that time. However, not until I read “Seven Pillars of Wisdom” by T.E. Lawrence did I get the urge to actually ride a camel.

T.E. Lawrence, a.k.a. “Lawrence of Arabia” wrote at length about camels and riding camels in his classic book about his experiences while serving as a liaison officer with rebel forces during the Arab Revolt against the Ottoman Turks of 1916 to 1918. "Seven Pillars of Wisdom" is to camels what "Moby Dick" is to whaling. Lawrence made riding camels sound really cool, which is why I added “ride a camel” to my “bucket list” several years ago.

Last year, I missed my chance to scratch this item off my list when I failed to take advantage of the camel rides at the annual Evergreen Sausage Festival. Opportunity knocked again this Saturday when I found myself at the same festival and noticed a sign at the foot of Evergreen’s Overhead Bridge that said “Camel Rides” with an arrow pointing toward the lot east of the Old Evergreen City School.

We made the short walk to where a small petting zoo had set up near the old school and spotted the camel ride right away. The camel's handler told us that the camel's name was “John Henry” and it cost $5 per person to ride. My daughter and I forked over $10 to ride John Henry, and I’m sure it’s an experience we won’t soon forget.

Once aboard John Henry, I was immediately struck by just how high off the ground we were and how uncomfortable it was to sit on the back of the camel’s spiny hump. The handler led us around a small corral a few times, and I had a hard time imagining riding John Henry for very far, especially miles and miles across a blazing desert. We sat atop a thin blanket and the only way I could see going very far on him would to be atop a saddle of some sort.

I was also struck by how clean John Henry was. The camels that I saw in the Arabian Desert were a lot rougher looking and windblown, like the cattle they were rather than pets to be led around for the entertainment of others. John Henry was obviously well manicured, well watered and well taken care of, unlike those Arabian camels who spent their entire lives in one of the harshest environments on earth.

On the ground, I also warned my family members not to get too close to the camel because camels have a reputation for spitting on those who got too close. However, the handler said he’d been around John Henry for years and had never seen him spit on anyone.

In the end, how many of you have ever ridden a camel? What did you think about it? Did you like it or not? Let us know in the comments section below.