The Owosso times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1897-1926, 1917-03-02
IN The LANDOF SUNSHINE
Story Of Trip BY Owossoites by Auto
Up the Mountains and through the
Forests of California.
By J. w. SIMMONS.

BY J. w. SIMMONS.
PACIFIC BEACH, CALF. Feb 1, 1917
Editor Times:
A recent trip taken by Mr.. and
Mrs. f. F. Joslin, Mrs. Simmons and
myself maybe of some interest to
your readers, so l will write you con-
cerning the same. The trip was by
auto. We were gone from August
20 to September 27 and travelled
1,730 miles. We carried a complete
outfit and pitched our tents
and spread our table wherever night
or inclination prompted us.
Mr.. and Mrs. Joslin had the auto
arranged for sleeping with an adjoin-
ing tent as dressing room. The
writer and wife had an Sx10 wall
tent with canvas floor, apd folding
cots and folding chairs The tents
were arranged with mosquitoe bar
curtains so no trouble was experienced
with those pests. We had collap-
sible or folding stove, and table
that folded and rolled up into a COM
pact bundle. A board one foot wide
was bOlted to front and rear tenders
with large running board as tho
bottom of the box. In this we car
ried our culinary department. This
was all nicely covered and kept Sc
cure by oilcloth. Our bedding was
put into compact bundle, protected
by oilclOth, and fastened on one side
of the machine above the box above
mentioned. Our tents were oilcloth
covered and fastened to the opposite
running board. Our tent poles were
made of hard maple and jointed, so
they took little room in the bottom
of the box. The car being for seven
passengers, by removing the two ex-
ira seats or chairs, gave ample room
for valises. Such was our prepara-
tion and we enjoyed the outdoor life
exceedingly.
Our least days run was twenty
seven miles and the greatest was one
hundred fifty-eight miles, the latter
bcing the home run on the last LAY.
1Wei encountered but one storm ON the
trip and that was a thunder storm
one afternoon in the mountains, but
we were in the auto and the road be-
ing paved we did not mind the
change.
In outline, our trip was northward
through Los Angeles, Bakerfeld,
Fresno, Merced; thence eastward in
to the Sierras and Yosemite Valley,
and back to the central valley; thence
further north to Stockton, westward
to Oakland, and San Francisco, and
southwark by the coast route through
Palo Alto, San Jose, Salinas, Monte
rey, San Luis Obispo, Santa Bar
bara, Ventura, Los Angeles and San
Diego. While we will not take up
cur entire trip in detail, vet there
are portions Of the same that we will
attempt to describe to your readers.
California has done much for the
betterment of-the highways and this
becomes evident when We tell YOU
that Of the 1,730 miles of highway
Travelled, about fourteen hundred
miles were paved. The greater por-
tion of the unpaved part being that
portion of the trip taken to see the
Mariposa Grove of big trees and the
Yosemite Valley.
California has two mountain
ranges running nearly the entire
length of the state. The Sierra Ne
vada on the east and the coast range
on the west. Lying between these
ranges ore two very large valleys,
named from the principal rivers that
traverse them. In the north half the
Sacramento Valley and to tho south
the San Joaquin valley. The rivers
from these two valleys unite and
flow through a break in the coast
range, into the Bay of San Francisco.
The Sierras and coast ranges each
consist of several parallel mountain
elevations or ranges, with numerous
side suprs. They bear various names
in different portions of the state. A
portion of the coast range south of
Los Angeles is known as the Santa
Ana mountains. North and east of
San Diego we have the San Jacinto,
San Bernardino, and Chocolate
ranges. This feature of the mountains
is mentioned as one cannot travel
far without finding some mountain
range impeding his progress. There
are two ways of overcoming these OBJ
stacles, either by traversing the tops
of the ranges or by finding an out
let through some break or gap in the.
range, commonly known as a pass.
Thirty-five miles north of Los
Angeles we come to a mountain range
known as the Sierra Madre or Te-
hachapi range. This range we must
cross to reach the interior valley Of