Western Kansas world. [volume] (WaKeeney, Kan.) 1885-current, 1915-05-08
CALIFORNIA LETTER

Los Angeles, Cali, April 20, rs.
To Our Friends and Readers of World
As we promised a number of our
readers some letters from California
and points of our trip, we thought
we would try and make good by keep
ing our word. We left Wa-Keeney
on the evening of April sth, and the
next day at Laramie, Wyoming; ran
into full f1edged northwestern
blizzard with quite low tempera-
ture- We passed over an elevation of
about 10000 feet and the air was
very keen and cutting. Much of the
mountain scenery could be seen
from the train and the different
ranges differ both in color and vege-
tation. The Wasatch range of the
rockies are very high and barren.
Wyoming is a desolate looking coun-
try covered with great rocks and sage
brush, but we are told it has immense
sheep and cattle ranches of great
value. We saw large herds of both
on the apparently barren hill sides
and they looked fat and in good con-
dition. We passed through seven
tunnels crossing this state.
On the morning of the 9th we ar
rived in Ogden, where we break
tasted. Ogden is one of the busy
cities of Utah and has a very fine de-
pot After short stop in Salt Lake
City we sped on to the southwest and
passed through some of the most
fertile and beautiful valleys on our
trip. Peach, pear, cherry and apple
inf frrl hlnono nd rdo
we'll advanced, the hills were bright
green and withal it was most pleas
ing panorama after our day through
Wyoming. Great fields of wheat and
alfalfa were to be seen on all sides.
At Eureka, Utah, we struck the
great irrigating bitches which seemed
to be running everywhere and a
strange change took place in the
mountain scenery. On our right hand
side the mountains were viewed with
huge lodges of red and no snow on
the summit and on our left they
were snow clad and covered with
short pine trees These beautiful
valleys continued until late in the
afternoon, when the landscape began
to change and sage brush and desert
sands Of Nevada took their place.
Through this state however we pas
sed through the most magnificent of
all mountain scenery where the train
began its winding ascent through
the mighty Sierra Nevadas. Sheer
walls of more than one thousand feet
arose on each Sideeof the train and as
those big mountain engines swing
around across chasms hundreds of
feet deep and curve and crawl along
ledges with boulders hanging out
over the train and an occasional dash
through tunnel that takes num-
ber of minutes to get through, while
it is all very grand somehow one
breathes with more freedom when
the valley is reached once more.
On the morning of April 11th, we
crossed the state line and found our
selves in California, but not yet off of
the desert. At Barston, Cali, the
Sierra Madre range came into view
and the giant cactus likewise, many
of them twelve to fifteen feet in
height. some of hem covered with
bright colored flowers, after several
hours we came to the San Bernardo no
range and things again began to
change. The homes were covered with
climbing roses in bloom and the land
scape was covered with wild flowers
and the mountain sides were green
and many cattle grazing.
On Sunday morning at eight o.
clock, we were in the Santa Ana
valley one of the richest, so they say,
in the state and in the midst of the
famous "Sun Kist'' orange groves.
The late oranges were still on the
trees and at the same time the trees
were full of bloom. The train passed
through miles and miles of groves the !
fragrance of the blossoms filling the |
whole train. We also followed hun
dreds of acres of grape vineyards. |
Oranges were piled upon the ground |
in great yellow heaps and lying under /
the trees going to waste enough to
feed Kansas on oranges for the next /
The Ia