It might have been worse : $b a motor trip from coast to coastMassey, Beatrice Larned
General
It might have been worse : $b a motor trip from coast to coast
Massey, Beatrice Larned
Automobile travel; United States -- Description and travel
We remarked that we were unfortunate, in never having seen a copy
of “Jim Jam Jems.” “You surprise me; it is on sale at six hundred
news-stands in New York City.” Feeling like mere worms, we expressed
the hope of seeing it in San Francisco. On our arrival, we asked for
it at the news-stand in one of the largest hotels. “We get it only
about once in two months,” we were told. Later we found the September
issue, which we read with interest. In the “Monthly Preamble” he says,
“Fact is, this good old U. S. A. seems to have slipped its trolley,
politically, industrially, and socially, and generally things be out
of joint.” That seemed to be the tone of the whole publication. I do
not know the particular significance of the name of his magazine; but
if he ever decided to make a change I wonder if he would consider “The
Knocker Club in Session.” Mr. Clark is a reformer in embryo, and his
talents are unquestioned. Perhaps, in the broad-minded, open West, he
will in time find something _con_structive to write about. Let us watch
and see.
After a very jolly visit, all too short, we started for Livingston
and Gardiner, the northern entrance to the park. The sky was dense
with smoke, due to the forest fires in the north. In Oregon a town had
been wiped out the day before. Our eyes smarted from the smoke; the
mountains, now the foothills of the Rockies, were entirely obliterated,
and, if this kept up, we could see nothing in the park. Cars were
turning back, and the prospect was not encouraging. The road grew
more steep and narrow, and we could hardly see a quarter of a mile
ahead of us. It was like a real London fog--pea soup. The altitude
was very high, and we began to feel dizzy. We were on roads that were
just shelves cut in the sides of the mountains, with hardly room for
two cars to pass and a good long tumble on the lower side. It was not
pleasant! On a clear day perhaps, but not in a dense fog.
Passing through Livingston, you turn due south for fifty-five miles.
At four o’clock we arrived at Gardiner, where we had a belated lunch
at a restaurant, and found a collection of five weeks’ mail at the
post-office. Joy!--and then more joy! We all wired home to anxious
relatives of our arrival. The huge stone arch forms the gateway to the
park. The officials, old army veterans, in uniform, stopped us and we
paid $7.50 entrance fee for the car. There is no tax for people. We
were questioned about firearms. None are allowed, and we had none.
XI
A WONDERLAND
As Joaquin Miller said of the Grand Canyon in Arizona, “Is any fifty
miles of Mother Earth as fearful, or any part as fearful, as full of
glory, as full of God?” That is the Yellowstone National Park!
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account