I participated in a lottery of the scenery "The Wave" that can only see 20 people a day

There are various lotteries (lottery) in the world, but do you know that there is a drawing in the United States to see a superb view?

Hello!World newspaperA special reporterTaira Hiroyukiis. I am now in Las Vegas (the asterisk) in the USA (red line is overland, blue line moves by air).


Beautiful streamlined rocks also known as the best view of the world "The WaveEvery day in order to see "10 winners will be drawn and lotteries are taking place, and more people will apply for more than 150 people. This time, I participated in the lottery and won the The Wave after winning.

◆ What is The Wave?
Wikipedia's The Wave article"The Wave is a sandstone layer located near the boundary between Utah State and Arizona State in the Paria Canyon Vermilion Cliffs Nature Reserve of America in the United States. With photographers and travelers, with its beautiful wave pattern, It is stated that the steep road to reach is famous. " In order to protect the landscape, there are restrictions on the number of admissions per day in the area where The Wave is located. How many are 20 people. 10 people will be selected by online lottery by application of 4 months ago and the remaining 10 people will be decided at the lottery held on the previous day in the local area.

◆ City with a lottery venue
The drawing venueUtahIt is in the town called Kanab. It is a quiet country town. Would it be America or something like seeing a big red rocky mountain in the back of the road.


The venue is a tourist center for tourists. It is also a simple natural museum.


The place is here.


Do you need to draw a lot?
The reception date of the lottery is written in the door. Reception is from 8:30 to 9:00. A woman who entered after several minutes was refused. I went there in February of the season so it was closed on Saturdays and Sundays, but the onseason from mid-March to mid-November is open everyday.


There is receptionist when entering inside. Here, my terrible misunderstanding was discovered.


Due to the time difference, drawing has already ended. I was inadvertent because I came from Las Vegas by car,There are four time zones in mainland USA, It was 1 hour earlier when crossing the state boundary which is a little eastern from Las Vegas.


However, on this day there are only four applicants, and six people have too many boxes. In other words, you can go to The Wave without a lottery. Although I tried to apply immediately with lucky, I saw the reason by looking at the bulletin board.


The weather of The Wave the next day was a rain forecast. Not only does it get rushed when it rains ... ...


There is a danger that the road will be muddy, the tire will get caught in the mud, or the car will slip, so we do not recommend going to the visitor center. Also, once the applicant gets a license to The Wave, he / she will be unable to participate in the 2 week draw. Therefore, we have to be cautious about choosing the schedule. Therefore, I quit applying for this day.


◆ To the lottery venue
Next day, I arrived firmly at 8:30. Lottery winners gathered one after another.


Before 9 o'clock, we will move to the drawing room.


The room was small and like a hospital waiting room.


When you arrive at the seat, write and submit information such as name, address, desired date, number of people, vehicle type etc on the application form.


The application form is totaled by the staff, and the total number of people and drawing number are written in the corner of the paper.


On this day, the number of people gathered was less than 30 people. Since there are only groups that come only to representatives, the total number of applicants was 48 people. Moreover, this day is Friday. In the off season, the visitor center will close on Saturdays and Sundays, so we will make a lottery for 3 days on Saturdays, Sundays and Mondays on Friday. In other words, there is a winning frame for 30 players, the magnification is 1.6 times simple calculation, ultra low magnification. My heart is swelling in expectation.

On the table the drawing machine that put our dreams was quietly waiting for a turn. It is a totally bingo competition.


Number numbered dream 9
It will be at 9 o'clock, and the staff will announce notes and their respective lottery numbers. Mine was number nine.


And as soon as the explanation was over, I started turning the lottery machine. The heartbeat becomes faster.


In the beginning Saturday 10 people will be turned. Starting with the first 11th, seventh and odd numbers continued, and ninth was called as early as possible. However, the probability of precipitation is 50% on Saturdays. Because the forecast on Sunday and Monday was sunny, I decided to let go of crying. However, we can not call on 10 people on Sunday, in the blink of an eye, only 10 people on Monday will remain. Since then, the first group called was a group of six people, so I had four more people as soon as possible.

At that time I thought it was desperate ...... The goddess of good luck smiled. Number 9 came out! Unexpectedly, I was pleased with my voice. The winner other than me was deciding cool without saying anything.


◆ Map of the treasure you got
After the lottery, only the prize winner was left, and there were explanations of notes and routes in going. Because the victims in this area are constantly behind, I was kept in mind of measures against distress such as securing food for 24 hours and taking pictures of the way I turned back to every 10 m.


When the explanation is over, the name is called for each group, and in exchange for only 7 dollars (about 830 yen), a map of the treasure with the place of permission and the location of The Wave written is handed over. Participation fee for lottery is unnecessary, so if you win and win 7 dollars you will get the right to go to see.


This is a permit. On the day, we attach it to the front windshield and bag of the car and prove it to the winner.


And this is a treasure map. There is Japanese, too. Eleven maps, photos of latitude and longitude and passage points are attached to this back side. On that day, we will depend on this map and GPS on our own. Most people do not hire guides.


◆ Departure for adventure
On that day, I left the accommodation with sunrise. The weather will be sunny. I will run offroad for about an hour with Toyota RAV 4 borrowed in Las Vegas. It was not a bad road that I worried about, but there was one point that seemed to be addicted to mud in only one place. If I could not get out of the way, the staff said that it costs around $ 1000 (about 120,000 yen) to call a specialist. When exceeding it was a lottery as well as a lot.


When you arrive at the start of trekking, write your name on the note for the victim's discovery, give a permit and leave immediately.


◆ After 2 hours of trekking, at last ... ...
In the beginning, we will go crisply while leaving footprints in wetlands. After that dry sand grips your feet and comes to rob your physical strength. Since it is not a desert, I also walk on the rock. Similar rocks line up, so you will not know the way you came when you stop. This was scary.


However, I managed to arrive at The Wave for about two hours by using the map I got and the GPS of the mobile phone. The wavy pattern was wonderful.


What is said to be a superb view often has photo magic, but this the wave was real. When I saw the smooth streamline pattern, I felt the kindness of nature that created it.


Also in this area there are not only The Wave, but also many unexplored scenery points not on the blog or map. It is a present given admission restrictions.


Around 200 million years ago, when there was a dinosaur, this area was a great desert area where strong winds disturbed the sand of dunes.


After that the new sediment covered the sand dunes and was consolidated as rocks with minerals remaining as sand dunes.


And due to uplift of the strata 15 million years ago, the original sand dunes became exposed. Due to the erosion at that time and the difference of minerals including sandstone, the current beautiful streamline pattern was made.


Well, how was it? In order to see The Wave, such luck tests are being done on-site every day. At the drawing venue, Japanese people saw a lot of them, some Japanese people who won the prize played a year's revenge. After all it was a lottery that we had to leave to luck, but when it became selected, we saw not only the waves but also the scenery where the neighborhood could be seen specially.

If you are interested in seeing this article, we recommend that you go in February. In addition to the low draw lottery, the trekking climate was too cold not too cold, it was the best. Even if the owner of strong fortune is participating in a lottery in the consecutive holidays, maybe you may want to look at the unique scenery on this planet.

· Additional notes
Since there was a story comment from the reader that he lives near Kanab, I will add it.

According to this person, February this year is the same warmth as in 1971 which recorded the highest temperature, but in the usual year the dart coat is muddy due to snowfall from February to March, and if it should stack out by any chance It is difficult and the road service will be expensive. Also, if you can not get out of it, it will be below freezing from evening and it is very dangerous, so it seems there is circumstance that the magnification is lower in winter than in summer.

If you are targeting low magnification from February to March, please go out after making thorough preparations.

Statement · Interview: Koji Tsuyoshihttp://zoshiki.com/wp/

Supervision: World newspaperSekaishinbun.net