The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1915-07-27

-"llcHeH you una the path that leads |
10 a spring, and it never fools YOU
How water ever gets to that spring |
IS a mystery to me- but it is enough |
that it has water, and that is one
point IN favor of a national park in |
NOrth Cardinals old reliable noun |
tains
mountain over 5000 feet high is
hlSh enough for anybody except those
VINO Climb mountains for records and
mat bunch is not the one that parks
are made tor. When you wander up
TWO or three thousand feet Of robust
North Carolina mountain trail your
knees will get wabbly enough for all
ordinary household uses, and there
is no particular need to have the ex-
agSerated facilities just so you can
overdo the thing.
Not So Big, But Big Enough
The North Carolina mountains are
not so big as the mountains Of the
Rockies. Neither are they SO bare
at the tops, and cold, and snow
capped. There is no satisfaction in
starting out in July with your sum
mer baggage on, and climbing up to
the snow line on the mountains, and
getting cold in the chilly air, and
soaking your feet in the snow and
slush. You don't do it very often
| agreeable attitudes where the climate
| is moderate and the trees and flowers
| are handy. The big mountains Of
! the west are all right for observation
| purposes, and you like to look at them
| grouped in mass. But the North
| Carolina mountains are the friendly
| kind that you like to loaf around with
| in neighborly way. Those who can
| afford it will find a satisfaction in the
1 oryyt n n n
there Is on a gigantic scale. You can
travel all day and not see a sign Of a
human creature, if you like that sort
Of thing. But there is one Of the
North Carolina advantages when you
are talking about a park for people
to find pleasure. In North Carolina
you don't stop to cake stock Of your
self and discover that you have
; separated from your guide and are
!, thing that you would like just at the
time to see.
IL 1t is hardly worth while to com
!. pare the mountains Of the east will
the mountains Of the west. Both ar,
. interesting. The trouble is that th
government seems to think that II
making national parks they shoul'
{ be made SO far away that very fev
: people will ever see them, while tn
, possibilities Immediately at hand ar
!! ! neglected. A park to be a par
!, should be of use to the man on foo
4 in his car, in his buggy, on horseback
. on the train, or any way he wants t
( go. That is where North CarOlin
II answers all the specifications. Tn
+ | mountain distances are not so TIRE
u mendous that it is impossible to 6
e about on foot. The mountains ar
. not so far away that you are limite
II to the one way Of getting there, b
II rail.
- Convenient Distances.
.ol 1t is fact that the scenery of til
.e North Carolina mountains is not Q
n a scale as large as that Of some
p the west We have here no canyoT
II like those of the Colorado or tt
,s ROYAL gorge of the Arkansas, but
6 must be remembered that the Color;
n | do is a long way from the Yosemit
"a and the Yosemite is a long way fro
is the Geysers of the Yellowstone, ar
k the Yellowstone is a long way fro
the Garden of the Gods in Colorad
A thousand miles or twice that dis
10 ance is a right annoying Jaunt IL yC
is want TO ramble from one point
m interest in the west to another. W ne
10 il comes to genuine attractions II
- North Carolina mountains can DrlI
no into a reaSOna bic area as many
,r any place on the continent, prODapl
q Mere size does not count for gre
- deal when you come to analyze thlns
90 Won never get excited over the ia
"a | +ba+ the sun is 96,000.000 mil
,-o distant. The moon, in comparison.
" inst over the back yard fence. B
r. to look at them YOU could not e