The daily sentinel., 1912-09-07

position route through Colorado for
the auto tourists who will motor
across the continent for the San
Francisco exposition in 1915. is
holding the attention of the good
roads people of the state today.
Representatives Of the national
highway associations. the American
Automobile association and others,
are now in Denver. and cooperating
with Denver, Colorado Springs and
Pueblo commercial bodies, have de-
cided on a route as far as Meeker.
IL will cross the Continental divide by
way of Buena Vista. This appears
to be the accepted routing for the
road, and so far as Grand junction is
concerned, there is no objection. This
city has constantly held that since
"all roads lead to Grand Junction,
motorists properly might choose for
themselves the various passable
routes over the divide. There is
plenty of demand for all the roads
that can possibly be constructed
through the magnificent mountain
scenery of Colorado, but since 1t ap-
pears necessary to have an official
route" designated Grand Junction is
well content with the Buena Vista
way.
1T now seems, however, that east
ern slope people are divided as to the
practicability Of the roads into Utah
and that the Meekcr-Nernal-P Provo
route was sprung into some notOri-
ETY.. On a map this is apparently a
direct road and, seen from afar,
would be a passable route through
Colorado. There are. however, sew
eral essential features necessary to an
automobile highway that the Meeker
road does not and cannot possess.
Most important of these things
is accessibility to garage. repair
shops, gasoline depots and cities
large enough to provide suitable ac-
commodation for those travellers who
would spend their nights under hotel
roofs. There is not a real city be-
tween Glenwood Springs and Pro-
vo, Utah, the entire line in that di-
rection traversing a resourceful and
undeveloped region, lacking accom-
mediation for tourists, unable to sup
port the necessary supply stations,
and most of all lacking a nearby rail-
road point in case of disaster to a
car.
By way of Grand Junction the
road is practically parallel with
the Denver & Rio Grande railway. 1t
traverses rich agricultural sections,
stretches of magnificent mountain
scenery and, above all. well con
structed roadways lead through fire.
quent towns of size sufficient to ac-
commodate the traveller.
To the motorist who has toured
over the expanses of prairie east of
Denver, climbed the steep foothills
of the Rockies and crossed the divide
through towering crags and pinnacles
of wondrous natural beauty, there
will be found in the Grand valley
scenes of compelling attractiyenessl
No section of America can show or
chards in state of such complete
development as in the Grand valley.
Its glories have been famed in song
and story, burt no tourist who finds
ii possible to do so will fail TO stop
on in Grand Junction while motoring
across the nation, and see the mag
nificent fruit tracts of Grand juno
tion and vicinity No such sight as
this can be found along the Meeker
route, and cannot be shown the
tourist for many years to come.
But after all the FEASIBILITY of the
road is the item which will weigh
most in consequence to the. dosigna-
tors of the official highway. And here
the Grand Junction road surpasses
any of it's competitors. The county
commissioners yesterday notified the
state officers of the good roads as
sociation, Gov. William Spry of
Utah and others that Mesa county
had completed the transcontinental
auto road to the Utah line and that
the line through his country was in
the best of condition.
Several autos have already passed
through Grand Junction from Den
yer and reached Salt Lake by the
most feasible Utah route, but none
have so far successfully negotiated
the trail through northwestern Col
orado to the Mormon capital.
One other item Coming out of
Denver some cars will not take the
Official route" They will 90 by way
of any of the several proposed roads
over the divide some of which join
above Glenwood, and others coming
over Black or Blue Mesa, by way of
Montrose and Delta. All these
eventually strike Grand Junction.
This city is admittedly the metropo-
lis of western Colorado, a city able
to supply any need of the automo-
bilist tourist.
So we have. first: accommodations
and repair stations, together with fire.
quent connection with railroads Sec
ond. the natural scenic beauties. of
fruit orchards in their highest state
Il H.