The Belding banner-news. (Belding, Mich.) 1918-1973, 1918-10-09
TELLS OF FINE
TRIP TO HOME IN
GOLDEN WEST
MISS CLARA MOULTON, NOW A
RESIDENT OF PASADENA,CAL.
WRITES TO LOCAL FRIEND


they wished After cleaning up bit
we started out to see some of the
town. We managed to get as far as
Marshall Fields without being run
over but believe me life would not be
worth living to me if / had to live
there. lodging cars, automobiles, etc.
We made one or two purchases there,
looked around bit and by that time
it was o'clock, very bad time for
country people to be on the main
street of Chicago. did not sleep
much that night, something awakened
US early in the night and l could not
go to sleep again. l finally put the
window down deciding that / just as
to choke to death on the kind we were
it with q knife. Our train left the
next morning at $50. You know
have always said have been taken
for everything but for better or
worse, well Emma was out after a
paper or something, / sat in the ladies'
waiting room at the depot. noticed
this good looking man making for tn.
waiting room; as he came in the door
he raised his hat as / supposed to
someone back of me; the next thing
l knew he stood beside my chair and
said, Pardon me, but are you Mrs.
Walters?" l said mo" If had
might have said yes and seen what
been any other place but Chicago
would have happened. Carleton
Washburn met US at the depot and
helped US to our train and saw that
we got started right. We took a
chair car, were on the sunny side; the
car was about full when we got on.
1t was very, very hot and dusty; it
seems to me up to that time l had
never been so warm in my life. We
had the blacklist. homeliest and best
natured colored porter on you would
care to meet, that helped some We
could not get berth but did manage
to get a pillow; there must have been
at least rs people on our car all in
the same fix; slept quite little but
Emma was nightwatchman, / guess
she watched the rest Of us sleep
was asleep when we reached Omaha
about 1902 o'clock p. m. but woke
because our porter got off there and
he let US all know it. / changed and
cleaned up about $50 and very soon
after that we reached McCook and
had about a Is mintue wait; we all
got out and walked about q bit; it
sure did seem good to get breath
Of fresh air; here we set our watches
back one hour. At that time the
crops looked fairly good but suppose
now they are in pretty bad shape as it
has been very dry so the papers say.
We arrived in Denver Sunday night
very dirty and tired, We found nice
hotel only one block from the depot,
the Oxford, and if it was Sunday we
proceeded to wash not only ourselves
but our clothes as well. 1t was about
6 or o'clock when we got there hut
we were too tired to try and go around
any and had good nights rest and
started out refreshed the next morn
ng.
After leaving Denver the first
thing of interest was Castle Rock, one
of Colorado's landmarks in the days of
the old wagon trains across the prai-
ries, wasted away for centuries, it is
still left in the form Of large castle,
then comes Elephant Rock, most re-
les; it is very natural. We passed
through Colorado Springs. the para
disc of the tourists. All the way one
sees the mountains in the distance
with Pixies Peake towering above all.
At the foothills of the Rockies, at
the eastern entrance of the famous
Royal Gorge lies the orchard town of
Canon City, guarding the mouth of
the Grand Canyon of Arkansas. Here
one sees berry patches, fruit trees and
truck gardens everywhere. The town
has large coal output, also possesses
iron and soda springs, hot and cold.
The state penitentiary is also located
there. 1t is rather small so / Judge
Colorado people are q law-abiding
people. Leaving Canon City the train
winds it's way along the Arkansas riv-
er to the entrance Of the Royal Gorge
which is the gigantic chasm in the
heart of the mountains, cut from the
SUBMITS of the lofty peaks to the very
foundation stones. At the bottom
flows the river, along this river fol-
lows the Denver & Rio Grande rail-
road, an engineering feat that seems
almost impossible to conceive of.
Farther and farther as we penetrate
this canyon, it becomes narrower and
the walls become higher; in the CEN
ter of the gorge it is 80 #. wide, at
the base. while the walls rise nearly
5000 feet above the track. At this
point there was not room enough for
the railroad and the river to run side
by side, therefore it was Necessary to
build the famous Hanging Bridge,
which is suspended parallel with the
river by immense steel supporters
buried in the granite walls on either
side. For ten miles we follow this
wonderful scenery in many places the
track curves so one can see the en-
CINE and from three to four coaches
ahead. The red granite, gneiss walls,
sparkling mica rocks towering above
the track on either side make a won
derful picture, one never to be for
gotten. Before McAddo was boss,
they used to put on an observation car
at Canon City also an open tourist
car, now there is nothing Of the kind
and you have to be satisfied with what
you can see from your window. We
had hard rain storm going up the
gorge; could not bear to close the
window SO got a little damp, but IL
was a beautiful picture.
Canon City gets its water supply
about nine miles up this gorge, one