The Brookings register. [volume] (Brookings, Brookings County, S.D.) 1903-1971, 1919-09-25
FINE DESCRIPTION
OF TRIP TO COAST
EXCELLENT STORY OF JOURNEY
FROM BROOkiNGS TO THE
PACIFIC OCEAN
THE JENKINS FAMILY ARRIVE SAFELY
Vivid Description Of Wonders Of Paint
ed Desert Have Poetic Effect on
Brookings Former Resident.

The Register has the pleasure this
week of publishing the following fine
descriptive letter from John c. Jenk,
from their visit in Bookings to Los
Angeles, where they will spend the
winter. In his tale of the awful animal
who visited them at night, Mr.. Jenkins
may have been having dreams of the
old days of Populism, but it is only
the weird influence of the mysteries
of nature, as seen in the wonders of
the great canyon, that could be re.
sponsible for his poetic feeling. If
everyone enjoys this letter as did the
Register staff, then we will certainly
be more than glad to hear more from
Mr.. Jenkins Of the Pacific coast and
it's wonders.
The. Burlington, 1923 w. 9th St.,
Los Angeles, Cal, Sept. 10, 1919.
The Bookings Register, Brookings,
South Dakota.
Gentlemen:
Kindly forward your paper to ME at
the above address. We arrived here
on the 18th after a very pleasant trip
by way of Sioux Falls, Sioux City, Co.
lumbus, North Platte, Julesburg, Den
Yer, Pueblo, Albuquerque, Springerville,
Flagstaff, Grand Canyon, Williams,
Kingman, Needles and Barstow. The
road through Nebraska was fair, but
in Snnon p1npns n,1itn candy Ern,,
Julesburg to Denver and on to Pueblo
it was like a boulevard. At Denver,
Doris left us, taking the train for Port
land, preparatory to returning to col
lege. We lay over there for twenty
four hours, camping in Rock Mountain
Lake Park, and had a heavy rain that
night. AS the road was we'll drained
and graveled, travelling south the next
morning was delightful. We passed
through southern Colorado c%antaloupe
day, and took advantage of the fact to
lay in what would ordinarily be
enough for a winters supply, but they
soon disappeared.
We reached Albuquerque, N. NJ,
Saturday night, the 9Th, and spent Sun
day there, starting on again Monday
morning. We were told there that
New Mexico and Arizona had had a
much wetter season than usual. 1t
rained heavily Sunday afternoon, and
the next morning we found the roads
pretty wet and slippery and had TO
use chains several miles until we
struck up on tn mesa away from the
Rio Grande where the roads were more
sandy and had been helped rather than
that, commencing on the 9Th, it had
rained almost continuously for almost
two days and a half all the way from
Albuquerque to Kingman, Arizona
Consequently many gullies had been
washed in the roads; many culverts
had been washed out, and, where not
sandy, the roads were very rutty.
We were much surprised at the ap
try. We had supposed that it was
semi-desert and would have a burnt-uI
appearance at that season of the year
Instead, most of it is covered with
scrub evergreen trees and the grasses
were green and the flowers abloon
everywhere. To add to our pleasure
the weather was delightful and there
was nc wind or dust until after We
passed Kingman. Passing through
some parts Of New Mexico one could
easily imagine oneself in a foreign
land. The quaint Mexican and Indiar
houses, built of sun-dried adobe brick
with strings of bright red chilli pep
pers hanging down their sides; the
one or more large. adobe, Duth ovens
in every yard; the great herds O
goats; the burros with their packs
and the swarthy complexioned inhabi
tants with their curious lingo, seemed
strange, but interesting to a north
rne
On the 10th we passed through the
petrifed forest which covers thou
sands of acres. Great petrified trees
lie prone in every direction, having
been uncovered by erosion. Nearly
all or them are in beautiful, varigatef
colors, and a lot of them are broker
into stove-wood lengths almosto as reg
ular as if designedly cut for that pur
pose. Many of the bridge abuttment.
are built Of these petrified trees. L
Is evident that the climate of tina
region in ages past must have beer
quite different from what it now IL
as we saw no living trees of that size
anywhere in that section.
We reached Grand Canyon at Crane
View at 6 p. m. on the 18th. going IL
from Flagstaff, 70 miles, and slep
that night on the brink of the canyon
The next morning bright and early W,
broke camp and drove II miles alon.
Continued on Page 2-Col. 81