Since the Covid-19 pandemic started, I have been dying to travel. I had to cancel 4 trips so it was my goal to go on a trip this summer before I go back to work at a high school. I decided a road trip was the only way to go. I didn’t want to go on a plane because of the recycled air. I rented a car to drive down to the Grand Canyon and stop in Vegas on the way home.

The drive down to the Grand Canyon was going to be about 11 hours. I was planning to only stop for gas and lunch. I was worried about the bathroom situation because of the pandemic. Most public restrooms have been closed to stop the spread of the virus. But luckily the gas stations in the middle of nowhere had their bathrooms open. Not everyone was wearing a mask when they were in the gas station store and bathrooms. That made me a little nervous but I tried to stay away from them.

Entering Arizona was such a change in scenery. Beautiful landscape. Very rocky and lots of Cacti (its cacti when there are multiple, right?). My goal was to get to the Grand Canyon before it was dark, it didn’t work out well. See the next photo.

Because of the pandemic, the hotels in the Grand Canyon were almost half off, so I jumped at the chance to stay right on the Canyon. I stayed at Thunderbird Lodge for $190/night instead of $325. Waking up and seeing the canyon from my room was amazing. I decided to wake up before sunrise because I heard it was gorgeous. And it didn’t disappoint. Walking up to the edge of the Canyon is un-describable. It is something that you need to experience to comprehend. It took my breath away. I could just stare at the view for hours. Walking around the canyon gave a slightly different view that would give you something else to see. It is just so vast, it almost looks like a fake background.

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There weren’t a lot of food choices in the Grand Canyon because of the pandemic. There were only a few options. So eating at El Tovar Hotel dining room made the most sense. The only downside was the wait time. Had to wait about 30 minutes at 9pm only because the only have half the tables and staff. It was worth the wait though. The food was so good. I had one of the best desserts I have ever had. Apple strudel, I wish I took a picture of it but it was gone so fast.

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Then off to Las Vegas, it was just too good of a deal to pass up. It took 4 hours to get to Vegas from the Grand Canyon. I stayed at Treasure Island on the strip. It was $34/night, just unbelievable. Checking in was a different process. They take your temperature when you enter and let 1 person check in. Everyone else has to stay in the casino area. They have you fill out a health screening questionnaire. They also let me know that there wouldn’t be any cleaning of the room the entire stay. I had a view of the Wynn and Stratosphere. The hotel was only about 30% full. It was obvious that there were a lot less people in Vegas. No one was walking on the strip like they just to be.

The food situation in Vegas was the biggest difference from normal Vegas. A lot of places were open and if they were open, they had a lot less tables and staff. Most of the places had at least a 30 minute wait because of this. Every restaurant made sure that everyone sat at least 6 feet apart. All of the staff had masks on the whole time.

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The casinos did a good job on trying to follow the guidelines. They had hand sanitizer everywhere. The Linq had wipes at every casino machine. Some of the machines were turned off to follow social distancing guidelines. And the Venetian had infrared scanner at the entrances to take my temperature as I walked in. Fremont Street was packed and they had metal detectors at the entrances. I am not sure why they added that during a pandemic. They forced everyone to walk in this little space.

Vegas during a pandemic was a very interesting experience. I would have never thought I would ever experience Vegas like that. It was a visual representation of what the country is going through. Even though it was a risk to leave the safety of my house to go on this road trip, it was worth it. I took all the necessary precautions. I cant wait to do it again, hopefully not in a pandemic.