Ken Fitzgerald
06-21-2020, 9:50 PM
The CDC has made it quite well known that this pandemic isn’t over. My wife had been in California home schooling our 3 youngest grandkids since mid-March. Two weeks ago this past Friday, I drove to Twin Falls, ID spent the night and drove on to North Las Vegas, NV where I met up with my wife, DIL and 3 grandkids. The 3 grandkids wanted to spend the 3rd consecutive summer with us in Idaho. I’m sure the twin 10 year old granddaughters and our 7 year old grandson won’t feel that way for many more years so we agreed to the idea. The next morning the 3 grandkids, my wife and I departed and arrived in Moab, UT that evening.
A number of years ago we discovered the advantage of taking guided tours. Last year we toured Yellowstone with the 3 grandkids with an excellent guide. This year I wanted to do Glacier National Park but couldn’t get a Red Bus tour so we decided to do 2 tours out of Moab. We scheduled these tours before the Covid 19 pandemic struck. The company that I chose for a ½ day tour Arches National Park after the pandemic struck offered to provide private tours for a marginal increase in price, so I upgraded to a private tour. The other tour was a 4X4 tour taking the Shaffer Trail to Island in the Sky which is part of the Canyonlands National Park. It would require the 5 of us to ride in a 5 passenger Toyota Landcruiser so there was no need to upgrade it.
The difference in how the two companies handled the reopening of the economy during the current pandemic was amazing. At 0700 we entered the first company’s business where there were Xs on the floor, hand sanitizer dispensers on a table. All the employees were masked, one came over told us they wanted to check our temperatures and informed us since we were traveling together, if any of us failed the temperature, none us would be allowed to take the scheduled tour. Using an infrared, non-contact thermometer, they checked our temperatures and we passed. They introduced our driver/guide and we boarded a tour van. He was masked, courteous and took us to the park. When we left the van to hike on trails we often removed our masks but reapplied them as we got back into the van. This guide was a local, an author, a father of adult children and part mountain goat I am sure. When he took the kids hiking up on to arches that my wife and I weren’t in condition to climb, he always stayed below them to catch them in the event of a fall. He was the first to descend for the same reason. He would put them into great positions for photographing and then go around a rock corner so he would not be in the photograph. I can’t say enough good about the guide or the company. We tipped the guide very well because he deserved it! On the company’s website they have a short video demonstrating how before each tour, they spray a sanitizer on the seats, seatbelts, handles etc. to help minimize the chances of transfers of the virus from previous passengers. BTW, employees are screened each day too. The entire event was pleasant and as professional as one could expect. The company’s name is Moab Adventure Center tours. I highly recommend the company.
The next day we entered the other company's office for the 4X4 tour. No employees were wearing masks. After they saw a group of 5 wearing masks, they began putting on masks. Even though we had signed waivers when we scheduled the tours in the first week of March, they made us sign new waivers to include no liability in case we contacted Covid 19 on their tour. There was no screening procedure. Their driver/guide was introduced. He led us to the vehicle where he disappeared and returned after getting his mask. The scenery was every bit as exciting as you might expect. I won’t use that company again. They clearly aren’t taking this situation seriously except to get you to sign a liability release.
I first saw Arches National Monument now Arches National Park in the late 50’s as we relocated to Blanding, UT where I attended 5th grade. In the same decade, I also saw Monument Valley, the location of several John Ford/John Wayne movies at/or near Goulding Trading Post. Having seen the unique scenery as a youngster, it sticks in my mind even today.
A number of years ago we discovered the advantage of taking guided tours. Last year we toured Yellowstone with the 3 grandkids with an excellent guide. This year I wanted to do Glacier National Park but couldn’t get a Red Bus tour so we decided to do 2 tours out of Moab. We scheduled these tours before the Covid 19 pandemic struck. The company that I chose for a ½ day tour Arches National Park after the pandemic struck offered to provide private tours for a marginal increase in price, so I upgraded to a private tour. The other tour was a 4X4 tour taking the Shaffer Trail to Island in the Sky which is part of the Canyonlands National Park. It would require the 5 of us to ride in a 5 passenger Toyota Landcruiser so there was no need to upgrade it.
The difference in how the two companies handled the reopening of the economy during the current pandemic was amazing. At 0700 we entered the first company’s business where there were Xs on the floor, hand sanitizer dispensers on a table. All the employees were masked, one came over told us they wanted to check our temperatures and informed us since we were traveling together, if any of us failed the temperature, none us would be allowed to take the scheduled tour. Using an infrared, non-contact thermometer, they checked our temperatures and we passed. They introduced our driver/guide and we boarded a tour van. He was masked, courteous and took us to the park. When we left the van to hike on trails we often removed our masks but reapplied them as we got back into the van. This guide was a local, an author, a father of adult children and part mountain goat I am sure. When he took the kids hiking up on to arches that my wife and I weren’t in condition to climb, he always stayed below them to catch them in the event of a fall. He was the first to descend for the same reason. He would put them into great positions for photographing and then go around a rock corner so he would not be in the photograph. I can’t say enough good about the guide or the company. We tipped the guide very well because he deserved it! On the company’s website they have a short video demonstrating how before each tour, they spray a sanitizer on the seats, seatbelts, handles etc. to help minimize the chances of transfers of the virus from previous passengers. BTW, employees are screened each day too. The entire event was pleasant and as professional as one could expect. The company’s name is Moab Adventure Center tours. I highly recommend the company.
The next day we entered the other company's office for the 4X4 tour. No employees were wearing masks. After they saw a group of 5 wearing masks, they began putting on masks. Even though we had signed waivers when we scheduled the tours in the first week of March, they made us sign new waivers to include no liability in case we contacted Covid 19 on their tour. There was no screening procedure. Their driver/guide was introduced. He led us to the vehicle where he disappeared and returned after getting his mask. The scenery was every bit as exciting as you might expect. I won’t use that company again. They clearly aren’t taking this situation seriously except to get you to sign a liability release.
I first saw Arches National Monument now Arches National Park in the late 50’s as we relocated to Blanding, UT where I attended 5th grade. In the same decade, I also saw Monument Valley, the location of several John Ford/John Wayne movies at/or near Goulding Trading Post. Having seen the unique scenery as a youngster, it sticks in my mind even today.