Los Angeles herald., 1909-09-05
MAKES REMARKABLE
TRIP IN AN ATLAS
LOS ANGELES MAN GOES TO
SEATTLE FAIR
w. L. Thompson and His Son Travel
over Rough Roads and Noun
tain Grades on Long
Journey

WillieI L. Thomson of 215 East Ave
nue. Fitty-tWo is a slender, quiet man,
not at all the person one would ex-
pect to make a record run with an
automobile over the worst roads on
the coast Mr. Thomson does not take
all of the glory of the trip to himself
as he divides it equally between his
20-year-old son Fred and his twenty
horsepower Atlas runabout.
Father ana son are great chums,
and decided to run up to Seattle in
the little car, which in the past two
years has been driven to the Yosemite
boundary and all around San Diego
county. Yielding to the advice of
prophetic friends, they added to their
own luggage and camp outfit block
and tackle and various tools for road
building, bringing up the weight OF
the whole to about 2500 pounds. The
Wrecking outfit perhaps made good
ballast 1t was never shifted, as the
car met all conditions of the road with
out assistance.
1t is ruefully admitted that the road
between here and San Francisco, along
the coast, was not the easiest part of
the trip, but that is an old and familiar
story. San Jose was made in three
days. The 595 miles from there to
Grants Pass, Oregon, took the next
five days, and in four days more they
had reached Seattle, making 1884 miles
in twelve days. At no time was there
am attempt made at breaking d record.
although the car went the speed limit
wherever the roads were good. 1t is
not known that anyone else has made
the trip in better time with any car.
While Mr. Thomson does not recon-
mend it as a Pacific Glidden tour, he
says that anyone having a thoroughly
reliable machine can make this glor-
ious trip, and if he be hunter or angler
or a lover of magnificent scenery, he
will be more than repaid.
Scenery Most interesting
The first nights camp was made at
Naples, where a large four -masted
ship was stranded on the beach.
Most of the way the ocean is near,
and at one point, near Crescent City,
the road dips to the beach when the
tide is low. Here, they had been
warned was the only place in twen-
ty-five miles where teams could pass
and they were asked to look out for
a young woman driving home from
Chestnut city in a buggy, whom they
must pass there. The young girl met
and passed them safely on the beach,
but she was by no means the only
woman whom they met driving alone,
sometimes after dark, among the
mountains At all times, where the
horses showed the least nervousness,
the quietly engine was
stopped, with the car run to the side
of the road, and Mr.. Thomson led
the horses by. Even with these pre-
cautions, one hysterical country beast
kicked so furiouslY that the machine
was DELAYED for nearly two hours
while the driver was assisted in mend
ing his wagon SO he could proceed.
Many hunting parties were met
one of them was from Pasadena
in, NRraC
carried for the horses, but motorists
found no difficulty in getting gasoline
and oil everywhere and at reasonable
prices. AT one time a false report of a
strike at Portland had sent the price
of gaeolinc to forty-tive cents per gal-
lon, but this was the exception. REQ
ple along the way have learned TO
care for the wants of automobile par
ties. and while there is little of the
old-time hospitality, the traditional
two bits usually procured an abun-
dance of wel-coOked food, with real
cream, berries and other 1rul' such
as dreams are made on.
Rough on Tires
The Thomsons slept under cover but
three nights and only once on account
of damp weather. Snow-capped noun
tain kings, primeval forests glorious
views of the ocean, and above all the
rivers of the north, delighted their
cves There is something wonderful
to Southern Californians in the vast
volume of water which pours un-
metered down the western slope. me
roads varied from quilted bare hills,
to the famous rock wall' near ka-
LAMA, volcanic rocks, which slashed at
the tires; rotten corduroy, virgin
brush. where the road was not ana
chuckholes, "the meanest part of the
road" Mr.. Thomson said, to the really
GOOD stretches, like those of the WASH
ington prairies. There was not pune
ture on the way.
Neither did the car give the slight
est trouble, despite almost continuous
mountain work. So cleverly dld the
little Atlas pick it's way over houlders
and through fords, so unhesitatlngly
attacl. the hills and work its way on,
long after its drivers were tired OF
tho innumerabe grades, then pick up
ca oavIv on good stretches, that they
came to feel it was almost a seentlent
creature. ON reaching Seattle 1t was