Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1898-04-11
LETTER FROM CALIFORNIA.

The next forenoon we had an ex-
citing drive to the summit of one of
it's mountains, winding round and
round, climbing higher and higher,
and as we caught glimpses of the
roadway above rs some of the party
would poinF TO it and say, "See where
we are going" while others would
exclaim, Impossible, we never could
reach it," But we did, and when we
came to the level at the top the view
was simply magnificent. Some
mountain peaks back Of us still high
er up, the island indented by beautiful
bays and coves, then old oceans
broad expanse, with the snow capped
mountains cleaning in the distance
hundred miles beyond. But the de-
scent was something to take ones
breath away. Just think Of coming
from height of sixteen hundred feet
in traversing three miles, on high
stage coach drawn by six horses, on
roadway too narrow for teams to
pass excepting where two loops we're
made for that purpose, rounding
sharp curves, around one of the loops
it seemed as if we were just hanging
in mid air, and doing the whole dis
lance in just twenty five minutes. I
breathed sigh of relief when we
touched level, but the glorious ex-
perience far unbalanced the tenn
porary fright. We shall never forget
Santa Catalina while memory lasts.
Another equally enjoyable excur-
sion from Los Angeles is a trip to
Mount Lowe. Go to Pasadena by
electric cars connecting with the
Altedena line, beautiful residence
section, four miles north, from which
point another line runs over the high
mesa to Rubio canyon, which is 1900
feet above sea level. There are many
wonders to be seen here, but we were
too impatient to reach greater heights
to stop for them, and SO from this
point we took the cable incline up
thirteen hundred feet, so steep that it
lacks only forty per cent. to the
hundred feet of being perpendicular.
When the road was built burros car
ried the materials wherever they
could climb, and where they could
not find foothold men carried them
on their shoulders. At the top of the
incline is to be found the Echo
Mountain house, which from the
echoes we heard was rightly named.
This is $500 feet above sea level.
Here are found the operating ma
chinery for the cable incline, the
Lowe Observatory with it's sixteen
inch telescope, the Worlds Fair
three million candle power search
light, where, within its beams, it is
said, a newspaper can be read at
distance of thirty five miles. From
the piazza of this hotel I could never
weary of the scene below. Such
wonderful patchwork I had never
seen. Large fields of brilliant yellow
peoples, squares of orange groves in
green and gold, peach orchards in
pink, the grayish- brown of other
fruits not yet in bloom, cities. and
towns, vast fields Of living green, and
the large irrigating reservoirs looking
like mirrors set in the landscape, be-
yond, the ocean, with our lovely
Catalina Island IS miles away. I
gazed and gazed, with heart over
flowing with love and praise. I
thought it well sometimes to be on
the mountain tops and behold what
God, and man, the noblest creation
of his hand, together hath wrought.
In the midst of these reveries there
was a call that the car was ready to
make the next ascent, and this time
we took an electric car again, and
here the grade is only seven per cent
to the hundred feet. The road climbs
up the mountain in graceful curves;
in one place there is bridge which
spans canyon and rounds a noun
tain peak, making complete circle.
The varying scenes below are wonder
full and awe-inspiring. One singular
feature is the higher you climb the
more beautiful are the trees and foil
age. Finally we reach the Alpine
Tavern situated in dense forest five
thousand feet above sea level, the
outside of which is fashioned after a
Swiss chalet. The inner hall or re-
ception room was immense, and con-
tanned several fire places, the central
one being the largest, in which
swings the pot and the crane, while
huge logs were burning
cheerily. Over the mantel is the
inscription, eye ornament
- Lo,,co io va crr1aot uuho doth fro.