Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1915-12-05


the buckskin-clad frontiersmen. is to-
day a principal auto highway. over
which passes a steady procession of
cars. You can make the trip from coast
to coast in any kind of a car in less
than a month.
4
There are five principal highways
lantic to the
Five Highways Run Pacific In
From Ocean to Ocean. tnds from
the gulf and the Mexican border to the
Canadian line. They are bound to-
gether by three main north-and- south
routes, as we'll by a legion of local
roads. The eight principal highways
are equipped to handle auto travel;
many cars each day pass every point on
every road, and hotel and garage ac-
commodations are provided accord
ingly.
Northernmost of the transcontinental
trails is the National Parks highway,
which leaves the Atlantic at Plymouth,
Mass, swings through Boston and chi
cago westward, holding Eell to the
Yellowstone and a northward branch to
Glacier Park, and drops down the west
slope of the Rockies to end in Seattle
and Tacoma. The National Parks trail
is a favorite summer route.
The Lincoln highway has its double
terminal in New York and Philadelphia
Thence it goes westward through the lake
states, touching Chicago and Omaha,
sending branches to Cheyenne and Dem
yer. to pass through Reno. of interna-
md MI n
City. The Lincoln highway ends at San
Francisco.
The ocean-to-ocean highway holds near
ly the same course, but passes through
different
New Road Touches line Of east
Some Historic Places. die western
cities, 1t crosses the Mississippi at Han
nibal, Mo-. sacred to the memory of Mark
Twain, and has for its major attraction
trip to Pixies Peak. whose base it skirts.
This trail joins the Lincoln highway at
Salt Lake City.
Perhaps the most picturesque of all the
routes is the National Old Trails road,
which follows az far as possible the routes
beaten out by the feet of the pioneers.
government wagon road that was pro-
jected and partially built before the days
Of railroads. From St. Louis to Santa
Fee. n. M. it follows the old Santa Fe
trail, scene of stirring frontier days.
through the Indian and Mexican villages
Of New Mexico to Santa Fe itself. Then
it leads the tourist through the Arizona
Navajo country. gives him a chance to
see the Grand Canyon. and deposits him
gently among the orange groves of Los
Angeles.
The National Old Trails road goes
through district whose climate makes it
an all-the-year-round trail. So does the
an-southern highway. which swings south
west from Washington. and passes through
most of the principal cities Of the south
on its way westward. At New Orleans
the all-southern turns slightly to the
north, touching Houston and San Antonio,
whence 1t heads westward again through
Ell Paso and southern Arizona to Cali
fornia.
There is a north-and-south route link
ing the ends Of all these highways on
each coast.
Highways Are Linked The Quebec
by Connecting Routes. rnns from, u
Canada to Miami. Florida. following the
Atlantic. The Pacific highway takes it's
start in the little town of Tia Juana. in
Mexican Lower California. and leads the
tourist along the beaches all the way to
Vancouver. Canada. Then there is the
Meridian highway, following the Mis-
sissippi valley through the central states
and joining Galveston and Winnipeg.
These highways include about twenty
five Thousand miles of road, and much of
1t is good road-as good as any in the
world.
All OF it Is passable. and all of it is
being improved. Between fifteen and
transcontinental run this year. Their
average time ewas between twenty and
thirty days for the straight trip. |
though an ordinary touring car took |
Boston. A young millionaire in a racer, |
with two chauffeurs and a bed in the |
tonneau, permitting him to run night |
and day, crossed the continent overland |
a transcontinental run is about thirty |
six hundred miles.
All the routes show certain character |
istics in common. Roads are good east
of the Mississippi. From the great
river to the Rockies stretches a val
ley belt which is fine going in dry |
weather, but which cannot be de-
scribed in polite terms after a heavy
rain. There are some steep grades IN
the Rockies. but nothing to bother a
car with competent driver Longer 1
stretches intervene between hotels. and
If one is forced to spend night out
anywhere on the entire trip it Will be
here. Between the Rockies and the
California coast range lies another
valley belt also hard on the travellers
temper in wet weather. but easily ne
gotiable at it's worst with the help of
patience and liberal use of the low
and intermediate gears. Past this, the
tourist finds plain sailing. Pacific coast
roads are excellent.
In the words of the American Auto
Association, ANY good car in
the hands of
Any Good Car Can GO = competent
Make Trip in Safety. make any trip
IN safety" Thus treasured, the pro-
spective tourist nevertheless begins to
ook doubtful when he is told to carry {
shovel, an ak, a hundred feet of tow '
inc, block-and-tacSle, a tarpaulin.
set of blankets and a water bag Such
hings are greatly needed. but as the II
I'D -frontiersmen said of the six-shoot-
n: when you do need it, you need
t bad" There are some long, lonely
stretches on the road, and it is best
o be prepared. For this reason. it is
that two cars travel to- I,
,ether Int thousands make the trip
lone without difficulty. The big. hve-i
yallon canvas water bag Is for use In f