cultural bus tours Overview

Although the research presentations will last 5 days, most participants would look forward to something beyond the presentations. In parallel with the presentations, each conference delegate that registers for the 5-day conference is entitled to two free bus tours and two free meals. Each tour results in a unique experience that blends the area's history, tourism and multiculturalism as the delegates get to know each other during the bus tour events. Given that the delegates hail from various disciplines, there is always something new to learn for the intellectually curious. 

FOR THE BUS TOURS, OUR BUSES WILL PICK UP DELEGATES FROM THREE CASINO HOTELS: (i) SILVER SEVENS (NEAR UNLV), (ii) CIRCUS CIRCUS, AND (iii) EXCALIBUR.

red rock canyon tour (17 March 2026)

Our first visit will be to the Spring Mountain Ranch State Park, located west of Las Vegas in the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area. The many springs in these mountains provided water for Paiute Indians and later brought mountain men and settlers into the area. The Ranch is a 520-acre oasis.

We will then proceed to the Red Rock Loop home of the (i) Calico Hills, (ii) Limestone Indian roasting pits, and (iii) the petroglyphs at Willow Springs.

We will have a free lunch buffet at a casino, and end our tour experience at Freemont Street, the second most famous street in Las Vegas after the Strip. This is where many famous casinos such as Binion's Horseshoe and Golden Nugget made their name. It was the abundance of neon signs, like cowboy Vegas Vic, that earned the street the nickname Glitter Gulch.

VALLEY OF FIRE TOUR (18 MARCH 2026)

Nevada’s oldest state park, Valley of Fire unfolds across 40,000 acres of blazing Aztec sandstone just an hour from the Las Vegas Strip. The park invites delegates to step away from the conference floor and into a desert sculpted over 150 million years, where iron-rich cliffs glow crimson at midday and seem to catch fire at sunset. After the tour bus arrives at the west entrance, guests explore at an easy pace among short walks and scenic pullouts at Atlatl Rock, Rainbow Vista, Elephant Rock, the Beehives, and the park’s signature Fire Wave.

Atlatl Rock’s staircase leads to petroglyphs carved more than 2,000 years ago by Ancestral Puebloan peoples. Nearby, Elephant Rock rises like a stone trunk against the sky. The Fire Wave is the park’s glass-bridge moment: swirling bands of red, pink, and cream sandstone that look painted across the desert floor. Stand on those ripples and the valley opens in every direction, an otherworldly landscape that rewards unhurried looking and makes the return to Las Vegas feel like coming back from another world.

After a full day at Valley of Fire, delegates are invited to a complimentary meal. Again, transportation is included, and the meal is part of the tour. No separate ticket or payment is required. Please join us to relax and compare notes from the day.