We held a one-night Grand Circle tour on June 5th and 6th.
The customer was a parent and child of a mother and daughter living in Hawaii.
On the first day, I went sightseeing in Sedna and watched the sunset at the Grand Canyon. The current Grand Circle was in the middle of summer, and Sedna also went sightseeing in the heat of 35 degrees Celsius or higher.
The second day started with watching the Asahi in the Grand Canyon, and I was planning to go sightseeing in Horseshoe Bend and Lake Powell and return to Las Vegas, but there was an unexpected happening.
My daughter got fever and got sick. First of all, I doubted Corona, but fortunately there were no other mixed passengers and it was reserved, so I consulted with the customer and decided to return to Las Vegas early.
We didn't go to Horseshoe Bend and Lake Puel, which we were planning to stop by on the way, but before 2:00 pm, we picked up and dropped off at the home of our relatives living in Las Vegas.
The medicine I bought on the way worked for my daughter who had a fever, and she became fine at the end of the tour.
It was said that the customer this time had not been vaccinated yet, but the guide in charge had already been vaccinated, so the guide calmly responded.
It's not uncommon for customers to have a fever or poor physical condition during the tour, but it was a shocking moment when it seemed that ordinary things were unusual in the life of a corona wreck for over a year.
I will post a snapshot from the guide in charge this time as well.
* Watching the sunset in the Grand Canyon * Asahi rising from the Grand Canyon * Valley illuminated by the morning sun
From May 30th to June 1st, we held a 2 nights 3 days Grand Circle tour.
The customer was a family of five living in Chicago.
I received an application for a tour in March and participated in the hope of reopening Antelope Canyon, but unfortunately there is still no prospect of reopening.
Even so, everyone was impressed by the scenery of the Grand Circle that I saw for the first time.
On the first day, we will start sightseeing from Bryce Canyon. The park is very crowded due to the consecutive holidays on Memorial Day. It was difficult to find a parking lot for each tourist spot. After that, I saw Horseshoe Bend and finally watched the sunset at Lake Powell.
On the second day, I went sightseeing in Monument Valley (from the outside because the park was closed) and went sightseeing in the Grand Canyon until the sunset.
On the third day, we will see the sunrise in the Grand Canyon, then visit Sedna and then return to Las Vegas.
The weather was better than the best sightseeing day for 3 days, and we were able to make memories of American life on a chartered tour with 5 family members.
This time as well, I received a snapshot of the tour from my guide, so I will post it.
* Monument Valley (from Gouldings Lodge)
* Grand Canyon Asahi (Mather Point)
* Sedona
I participated in an event called "THE LIGHTS FEST" on Saturday, May 29th.
It is an event where a large number of lanterns are launched at night in the desert without lights.
The location was in a desert town called Littlefield, about an hour and a half drive northeast of Las Vegas. Two years ago, I participated in "RISE" for the first time as a couple at a similar event, but due to the influence of the wind, I had a hard time launching the lanterns, but the sight when the lanterns were launched all at once was wonderful, so next time I vowed to revenge to join the whole family.
However, last year's "RISE" event was canceled due to the influence of Corona.
And this time, I was able to launch a lantern with my family for the first time in two years.
Actually, this "THE LIGHTS FEST" was originally scheduled for May 1st, but the event was postponed yesterday due to the weather (wind).
On the day of the event, there was no wind and thin clouds appeared, so it was the best lantern launch event without worrying about the heat while waiting for the sunset. Many indoor and outdoor events were canceled due to the influence of Corona for a long time, so a surprisingly large number of people visited this event and were delighted with the launch of the lantern.
Many of the participants were like Las Vegas residents, but no one was wearing a mask because the event itself wasn't required to wear a mask, and only the time there was a complete time slip in front of Corona. was doing.
All of us in the family have been vaccinated, but the current Las Vegas vaccination rate is about 40%, so it can be a bit complicated to think that more than half of the people who gathered at the event are vaccinated. ..
America is likely to return to normal life as it is.
A two-day, one-night Grand Circle tour was held on May 25th and 26th.
This tour was a mixed ride, with a total of three people, a couple living in Berkeley and a male expatriate living in New York.
Unfortunately I couldn't see the sunset or sunrise in the Grand Canyon for two days, but I enjoyed all the views of Sedna, Horseshoe Bend and Lake Powell.
Although it was a mixed ride, it was possible for customers to sit at a distance from each other even in the car with a small number of people, so we were able to participate with confidence.
Since June, masks will no longer be required in most places, so it may be necessary to update the policy for future mixed tours.
This time as well, I received a photo from the guide in charge that shows the situation at the site, so I will post it.
We held a tour of the Grand Circle for 2 nights and 3 days from May 22nd to 24th.
The customer was a family of three who came to study abroad at a university in Boston for a year from a company working in Japan. Before returning to Japan, I took this tour to explore the wilderness of the United States.
The first day is a full day of sightseeing in Zion National Park and Bryce Canyon National Park, followed by Horseshoe Bend and finally Lake Powell's sunset viewing. There were too many tourists visiting Zion and Bryce Canyon, and the parking lot in the park was very crowded, so it was difficult to guide, but the weather itself was good and everything went smoothly.
On the second day, tour Monument Valley and watch the sunset at the Grand Canyon. It was a moving day to be able to slowly see the sun set on the horizon of the Grand Canyon at Yavapai Point.
On the third day, we canceled the early morning morning sun appreciation at the request of the customer, stopped by the Grand Canyon in the morning, and then went sightseeing in Sedna for a day.
The advantage of the chartered tour is that you can change the schedule flexibly according to your mood and physical condition!
I received a lot of good photos from the guide who was in charge of the tour this time as well, so I will carefully select and post 3 photos.
* Horseshoe Bend * Forrest Gump Point (Monument Valley)
* Grand Canyon Sunset (Yavapai Point)
From May 22nd, we held a one-night, two-day tour.
The customer was a couple living in New Jersey.
On the first day, after sightseeing in Sedna, watch the sunset at the Grand Canyon.
On the second day, we will visit Horseshoe Bend and Lake Powell after watching the Asahi at the Grand Canyon.
Unusually in this season, the Grand Canyon was as cold as winter and the lowest temperature was -4 ° C.
Although it was a sightseeing tour while enduring the cold in both the setting sun and the morning sun, the customers were very satisfied with the beautiful view of the Grand Canyon in good weather.
I will post a snapshot from the guide in charge this time as well.
* Grand Canyon Sunset * Morning Grand Canyon * Horseshoe Bend
From May 18th to 20th, we held a tour of the Grand Circle for 2 nights and 3 days.
The customer is a family of five living in Michigan from Japan, and came to see the spectacular view of the Grand Circle before returning to Japan next month.
Sightseeing in Sedna for one day on the first day and watching the sunset at the Grand Canyon at the end.
On the second day, watch the sunrise at the Grand Canyon, then go sightseeing in Monument Valley, Goosenecks State Park, Mexican Hat Rock, etc. and watch the sunset in Monument Valley.
On the third day, watch the Asahi in Monument Valley, then visit Horseshoe Bend and Lake Powell before returning to Las Vegas.
On this tour, I stayed at THE VIEW HOTEL for the first time in Corona. The hotel has been reopened since last month, but since the Monument Valley Park is still closed, we will access the hotel by avoiding the barricade at the park entrance in front of the hotel, but the restaurant in the hotel Was closed and the Monument Valley Visitor Center next to the hotel was also inaccessible due to the barricade.
However, since all the rooms are very popular because you can see the view of Monument Valley in front of you, this time the guests were also very satisfied with the magnificent view from the rooms.
I will post a snapshot from the guide in charge this time as well.
* Asahi from Grand Canyon National Park Mather Point * Evening mittens seen from the room of Monument Valley "THE VIEW HOTEL" * Asahi seen from the room of Monument Valley "THE VIEW HOTEL"
On Sunday, May 16th, we held a day tour of the Grand Canyon.
The customer is 8 people from 2 families (from VELTRA), and I came to study abroad at the University of Chicago from a company that works in Japan and lives in Chicago. I will return to Japan next month, so I visited the Grand Canyon before that. It was a group.
Since the couple had four small children, the vehicle was completely reserved due to the corona disaster, so I was able to enjoy the tour with peace of mind without having to worry about other customers.
The highest temperature in the Grand Canyon today is 20 degrees Celsius, which has been cool and cheerful these days.
I've also received a snapshot of today's Grand Canyon from my guide, so I'll post it.
We started a one-night tour from May 10th.
I will post the tour report and photos from the guide I was in charge of.
On the first day of this tour, we went sightseeing in the Grand Canyon and then stayed in Sedna. In Sedna, there are many days to watch the sunset and the starry sky.
On the second day, enjoy your free time in the morning with yoga, hiking and shopping in Sedna, then the ghost town of Jerome and the former Arizona capital of Priscott. And "Watson Lake" sightseeing.
In addition, while traveling, we will pass through the colony of Arizona's famous "Saguaro Cactus", so we will take a commemorative photo with a huge cactus.
This customer is a couple who are stationed in New York, and they participated as a commemorative trip before returning to Japan in the summer after completing their five-year stay.
Of course, you enjoyed the main Grand Canyon and Sedna of the tour, but there was also a gap in the scenery with the NY where you live in the scenery where the "Saguaro cactus (giant cactus)" that you stopped by at the end unexpectedly grows. It seems that the tension was rising at the beginning of this trip.
I will also post some photos from my guide.
* Watson Lake * Priscott (Downtown)
* Saguaro cactus
On Thursday, May 6th, I went to Sedna for a new project of bear trip.
Although it was not as crowded as it was before the summer vacation, the liveliness before Corona was completely restored.
AIRPORT MESA, RED ROCK CROSSING, BELL ROCK, UPTOWN, etc. are all full of parking lots, and only Sedona seems to be a tourist destination where the economy has improved in Corona.
In fact, according to the Sedona Tourism Board, the number has hardly decreased last year compared to 2019, when the number of people was the highest ever, and since the beginning of this year, the sales record of the same month in the past has been updated every month. It seems that the local residents are constantly complaining to the city of Sedona due to the congestion.
For residents, it takes more than twice as long to move as usual due to worsening traffic congestion, illegal parking on the streets increases due to lack of parking lots on trails and tourist spots, and problems with tourist manners such as dumping garbage. While I am happy to be busy as a tourist destination, many problems seem to be piled up.
Accommodations in Sedona now have no group guests at all, and reservations can be made by individual guests who can afford it, if not wealthy, so the average nightly rate is $ 300- $ 400 a day. There are many, and this is also the highest ever.
Due to lack of accommodation, apartments in the city have been transformed into hotels, housing has become AIR B & B, and the housing of people working in Sedna is being lost and rents are rising, and it is also a big problem that there are not enough workers. It seems that it is.
As the United States enters summer vacation from the end of this month, tourism demand in Sedona will increase even further.
The Grand Canyon National Park has announced new guidelines for operating tours, which will take effect on May 8.
Currently, there is a limit on the number of people to tour in Grand Canyon National Park, and only 10 people including drivers and guides can board one bus, but from Saturday all passengers have been vaccinated. If there is evidence that the corona test result is negative within 72 hours, 100% boarding is permitted.
Even if the above proof is not obtained from all passengers, 50% of passengers or up to 10 passengers are allowed.
Until now, many bus companies have canceled the tour because less than 10 passengers could be taken on the tour regardless of the size of the vehicle, but the number of domestic tourists visiting Las Vegas is increasing. In addition to this, with this change in rules, I think that the Grand Canyon sightseeing tours to and from Las Vegas will be resumed all at once.
Disneyland in California has reopened, and tourist destinations in the United States are returning to normal for the summer vacation.
In Japan, the movie "Kimetsu no Yaiba" released on October 16th last year will be released at the same time in the North American area of the United States and Canada from April 23rd, which is about half a year later.
In the United States, it will be screened in about 1500 movie theaters, but here in Las Vegas, it will be screened in 13 movie theaters.
The movie will be screened in two patterns, an English subtitled version and a dubbed version, so we Japanese are grateful that we can watch the movie with the voice of the original voice actor by selecting the English subtitled version.
Since many states have relaxed admission restrictions for indoor facilities for some time, movie theaters have been reopening rapidly throughout the United States since the spring break.
Attention is being paid to whether the movie theaters that want to revive the long-slumped business at once with this "Kimetsu no Yaiba" can meet their expectations.
I also checked the ticket with the intention of watching it on the weekend, but there was still room for seats.
