We had one person recently post a review for our Grand Canyon tours and hit the nail right on the head.  Our tours are very casual and meant to let people feel like our friends for a day.  In fact, I’ve made several very good friends through my tour service because of how we treat people.  There are people who often misunderstand our ranking and think it reflects a red carpet, luxury tour service.  The only place our website mentions the word “luxury” is under the TripAdvisor section where I explain that we ARE NOT  a luxury tour operator. 

I grew up on a small farm in Michigan and know how appealing simple and rustic things are in life.  The reason I chose to target people like this is because, growing up on that small farm, I learned  the glass is always half full.  There are going to be times when everything doesn’t go as planned but that’s the time to wing it and have some fun.  There are people who don’t undertand this and their attitude or behavior almost always affects the mood of the group.  These people make me feel like I should just operate everything from a firm business point-of-view.   They make me mad but then I realize that these tours aren’t designed for them, I don’t want their business, and so I’m not going to change anything because a few people mis-booked their tour.  I think we have enough information on our website to let them make a sound decision if our tours fit their travel needs.  

Our tours are very casual, the tour guides are very professional, caring, and knowlegable, and our tours are certainly not designed for anyone who is going to scrutinize every detail of the tour.

I want to blog about letting people know that it’s your right to ask to see insurance certificates and business licenses and to ask if the mode of transportation is equipped with seat belts.   I’d also advise that you look at the tires before getting into the vehicle.  A blowout is the most common cause of sending buses and vans off of the road.  You can ask if the vehicle has a consistant maintenance schedule. 

There was a terribly fatal bus accident on Friday, January 30, 2009  just south of  Hoover Dam.  There were sixteen people on board and all sixteen were ejected from the bus.  It rolled over 1.25 times and killed seven of the sixteen people.  

Make sure that you ask if the Grand Canyon tour van or bus you are traveling in is equipped with seatbelts.  What most people don’t know is that buses are not required by law to provide seatbelts for passengers.   It’s dumb.  They require them on airplanes but not buses?  No offense, but are you more likely to survive a bus crashing into a tree or an airplane smashing into the ground?  I just love our good politicians.

Many people write us and complain about the fact that 15 passenger vans have high roll-over ratings.  The truth is that, as the above tradgedy shows, every vehicle is prone to roll over when going off of the freeway at a high rate of speed.   What you need to keep in mind is that a seatbelt will increase your chances of survival in a rollover accident by 90%.  I wonder how many of these people would have survived if they had seatbelts.   We’ll never know, just like we’ll never know if that sixteen year old girl who died was suppose to be the one who found a cure for cancer. 

You can email me directly at darryl@grand-adventures.com if you want to ask about our licenses, insurance, maintenance schedule, or any other safety concerns.

I had a great time this week with everyone!  I’m going to try to blog and tell stories of the week.  I never know what is going to happen but most of it is funny.  Thanks to everyone for making the trips so fun!  It’s hard doing Grand Canyon tours when people really aren’t into it.  Nearly everyone who joins me for a tour is really into it and I like having fun with people.  But, there are times when people aren’t into it; they just didn’t want to ride a big bus for eight hours.  It was a great week and so on we’ll go!

The funniest thing I saw was when Olaf, a great guy from Germany, learned he had the exact same camera as a young kid named Kay (from Singapore).   Kay had all the bells and whisltes for his camera and Olaf was so impressed that he forgot that his wife, Karin, came along on the tour too.  Kay opened his backpack at one point and Olaf’s eyes widened like he had just seen a chest of gold.  They fished around in the bag for awhile.  I told Karin, “Well, I think you’re going to be sitting in a new seat on the ride home.”  She agreed.  Cjay went on a tour too and I like it when she goes.  I have someone who I can pick on for a full day – but she doesn’t have any of it for too long and puts me right in my place.   She’s afraid of heights and has been doing really well in getting use to it.  One day, I’ll be able to grab her by the arm and run right to the edge. 

I saw a trailer-trash fight too at the Grand Canyon this week!  A girl who was about 18 suddenly got mad at her brother, who was about 16.  They were standing by the edge when her brother whispered something to her.  She said, “I know you just didn’t say that to me!  Say it to me again!”  Suddenly, she slapped him so hard that the cigarette fell out of his mouth and danced across the patio.  Her dad came running over crying, “Ahhhh, Jenny Jo!”  He chased after his cig yelling, ”Jenny Jo, you ain’t wantin’ to do that!”  She followed right behind him and got into his face as he stood up from grabbing his cig.  She said, “Say it again!”  So, he did what any 16 year old boy would do.  He said it again,  He said it out loud though.  It had something to do with the size of the Grand Canyon and a particular body part on Jenny Jo.  I’ve never seen a woman hit a person so hard.  She obviously knew how to throw a good punch.  This time, dust came out of his ears as she belted him across the eye.  Her dad jumped in screaming, “Darn it Jenny Jo, I told you about hittin’ your brother!”  She pushed her dad and started cussing like an old sailor, “You didn’t hear what he said to me cuss, cuss, cuss!”  She stormed off but the guy had a really bad black eye.  I felt bad for him.  I’ve done over 800 tours and this was the first time I saw a Jerry Springer-like moment at the Grand Canyon.

I’m a bit behind on CD’s so please bear with me as I get through them.  I promise to get them out – and PLEASE email me if you didn’t get yours yet and traveled before June 5th.  I’m working on three new affiliate sites called Grand Canyon Sunset Tours, Grand Canyon Walking Tours, and a directory called 702Tours. 

Welcome to Grand-Adventures.com!  I’m going to start posting Grand Canyon stories and provide some insight into some of my favorite spots around Las Vegas!