Cameron County press. [volume] (Emporium, Cameron County, Pa.) 1866-1922, 1901-07-11


the right of way has been chiseled through
ledge solid granite perhaps 40 or 80
feet high. The section that has been
separated from the main ledge by the
roadway, stands there an isolated sentinel
or as an impregnabe rampant overlooking
the great rocky gorge far below, as if in
menace to any who might be audacous
enough to attempt to approach from that
direction. In nearing the "Alpine
Tavern" we have already begun to pass
through a thin covering Of snow on the
ground in many places where the sun has
been unable to reach it, so that the chilli
ness of the lower attitudes is changed to
absolute coldness, and we experience al
most as many changes in weather condi-
tions in these mountain Businesses as we do
in the ever huctuating scenery. Arrived
at the Alpine Tavern, altitude 5000 feet,
the car is soon relieved OF its happy family
of passengers, some Of whom straohtway
begin knocking icicles from the caves of
the porch extending along the trout of
the inn, while Mart devotes his time to
selecting good solid broad gauge road
to walk on and tests it thoroughly to see
that it is absolutely safe to before he
ventures far on it. Mart feels that he is
too far away from the earth to find any
thing very reliable. He says he wishes
they had made this railway on the earth
instead Of hanging it up there in the
clouds, and he says he has a picture of
himself riding down it. The drives and
trails in the vicinity of the Alpine Tav-
ern are covered in most places with one
to three inches Of snow, depending of
course on their relationship with the sun,
and while the sun has taken refuge be-
hind cloud we experience a regular
winter temperature, but with the exercise
of walking, and the appearance of the
bright genial sunshine in few moments
our blood begins to warm and we take on
new life until we feel that we are boys
again in this pure mountain air; at least
| can speak for my immedia}e companion
and myself. He is young man from
Maine aged about % which makes him
practically boy-and | am close beside
him. With little more Of the exhilerat-
ing exercise, and lew observations from
some Of the several view points along the
mountain drives, where perfect enchant-
ment of scenery is spread out before us,
far beyond and all around us, far down
below us into the abyssmal depths of
gorge and canon, and still above us, the
towering summit of the mount on which
we stand, I,l00 feet higher than we are
We needed no other inspiration to bring
us to the decision that this was desirable
thing for US to stand on and look down
on everything, except the peaks of a
couple Of neighboring mountains that
tower above the summit of Mt Lowe SO
without even tarrying to exchange friend
ly greetings with the romantic looking
Al pine Tavern, standing there at the
foot Of the trail in its very becoming
garb OF Swiss architecture, we take the
trail and, following along its winding and
intricate course for two and half miles
stopping at almost every turn to gaze with
renewed wonder at the other and still
different scenic effects that opened up
before us at each new position we attain
ed by the ever winding and curving of
the trail; we find ourselves on the summit
the highest point in Mt. Lowe-hav
ing spent only about three quarters Of an
hour on the trail The clouds which we
have begun to associate with on our way
up the trail, have excerised considerable
influence in the shaping of the land
scape, and as we climb higher, and get
in among them they are very important
factor, and to attempt to plan any obser-
vation now, without consulting the clouds
or taking them into consideration, is
equivalent to reckoning without your
host. We stand here on the summit for
while, neither of US speaking, dumb with
amazement at the scenes being enacted
before and around us. In coming up the
mountains, the different scenes unfolded,
or opened up to our view, by the different
positions from which we viewed them,
sometimes augmented by cloud effects,
but up here it is different; we stand still,
and the kaleidoscope changes are pro-
duced by the mingled whlms OF cloud and
sun. The landscape paintings of some
of the masters are truly wonders and in
spire ones very soul with admiration at
the wonderful arrangement of perspective
and coloring. Now the artist who uses
canvas for his picture is handicapped by
lack of space and for proper scope, but
up here in the mountains, little world
in itself and by itself, the artist has made
use Of the everlasting hills for his can
vass, whose brush has been directed by
all the force of nature since the creation,
and all that is beautiful in nature has
been brought into use for the color effect,
and the picture stands beyond the reach
Of criticism Here it is claimed that on
clear day we can see all over Southern
California, and into Nevada and Arizona
and Mexico, and away out to the islands
in the Pacific. We cannot get much