The Celina Democrat. (Celina, O. [Ohio]) 1895-1921, 1916-02-04

ed out from continuous rains.
From Denver to Colorado Springs
with side trips to Canyon City and
the Royal Gorge; trip up South
Cheyenne Canyon, up Williams Can
yon to Cave of the Winds, a very
steep drive, through Garden of the
Gods. 1 succeeded in getting a spe-
cial permit to drive over the new
Pixies Peak Highway which was not
completed. We drove over this and
parts where they were still blasting
We went to the end of the finished
work and the engineer of the road
told me further than any automobile
had gone heretofore. We were up
then about 1900 feet beside drifts
of perpetual snow and above the tim
Der line.
When you get above 10000 feet
the altitude changes the power of the
motor and you lose about one-half of
your horsepower. We had stretches
of this new Pixies Peak road that
showed by grade meter 25 and 80
per cent grade. The hair pin turns
in places were so sharp it was neces-
sary to back up and 60 ahead in MAX
| ing them. We went back to ColOTa-
do Spring from there, through the
! Ute Pass, striking West through the
| heart of the Rockies, over Tennessee
| Pass, which is over 10000 feet ele-
yation, down through the Eagle River
| Canyon, where it was necessary to
climb out of the canyon and 90 over
Battle Mountain, which was one of
the stepest and toughest of the whole
| trip, grades showing 25 and 80 per
cent, 1000 feet on the off-side. with
but very few places where two could
pass.
After getting over this mountain,
we hit the Grand River Canyon above
GlenWood Springs, this Grand River
Canyon is one that forms the Great
Colorado River This is tremendous
ly rough and the road very narrow.
From Glenwood Springs we left the
railroad and went back into Unitah
Basin, stopping at the K-Cattle
Ranch, where we shot and hunted
coyote, rabbits and sage hen.
This point was about 200 miles
from the railroad and a very wild
and unsettled country. Gasoline was
selling from AZ to soc a gallon.
Travelling on to Salt Lake City we
encountered a hard mountain rain of
day and night, and we had the Col
ton Pass, 10000 feet to cross before
we could get to a railroad; making
this climb took us all day until in
the evening to make fifty-twO miles,
as the mud was so deep and the al
titude so great.
We finally arrived in Salt Lake
City, and prepared ourselves for an
other strenuous run Of sewn hundred
miles to Ely and Reno-all desert
work and far distant from the rail
road. We carried ten gallons of eX-
ira gasoline on the running board
three gallons of lubTicating oil; sew
en- to eight gallons of water. We
made the desert, however, in four
days, arriving in Reno in good shape,
and from there we took a side trip
to Virginia City, one of the oldest
Gold mining camps in the West, and
at one time the richest in the world,
the camp that made Fair Flood and
Mackeye and many other Frisco mil
lionaires.
This was a very steep and strenu-
Gus climb as the town lies on the top
of the mountain. On the drive to
Virginia City, it was necessary to
climb 5000 feet in five miles. We
drove on from there to Carson City, |
and from there over a rough noun |
tain drive to Lake Tahoe, where we |
spent the night and started out in d |
snow storm the next day, across the |
highest point Of the Sierra Nevada |
Mountains, reaching Placerville the |
next eyning, and arriving in San |
Francisco the next day with the Car
punctures on the trip of $500 miles |
punctures o nthe trip of $500 miles |
across--Our tire equipment being |
After taking in |
the Panama Exposition, we drove in
to the Yosemite Valley, which was |
one of the toughest drives of the |
whole trip, the grades ranging from |
"a to 80 per cent
When we hit the Yosemite Nation |
al Park boundary, a Forest Ranger |
stopped us, looked the car over, took |
our fire arms and bound them up |
with heavy wire and lead seal ,ad-
vising us they could not be used any |
where in the Park He also gave us |
schedule to go on between given |
points arriving ahead of schedule a |
charge of soc minute for the first |
five minutes, and S1.00 a minute for |
tbl4S IA4luS OND1 LhdJ W1GlG We lulSul |
arrive ahead of the schedule he gave |
us. Upon arriving in the floor at |
the valley, government officials stop |
ped us and advised we would have to |
pay $500 for the opportunity of driv- |
ing our machine into the Valley. We |
shelled out the five dollars, thinking |
we would have an opportunity to |
drive over the floor of the valley and |
look it over, but instead he informed |
us we must take our machine to a |
tent two miles from the hotel and |
leave it there while we were in the |
Valley, he also told us we would be |
charged $1.00 a night for the priyi- |
lege of leaving the machine in the |
tent.
They have no Accommodations for
taking car owner back from the |
tent, but he must walk two miles to |
where he is staying.
This is a government park, owned |
by the people, and was the only place |
on the trip where l thought | was |
burned and stung and that by our |
own government, and every automo- |
bile tourist l talked to was of the |
same opinion. From the Valley we
drove through the MaripOsa Big Tree |
wonderful sight; from there on |
down into the San Joaquin Palley, |
where we hit a magnificent boule- |
ward, through Bakersfield on over the |
M