Daily capital journal. (Salem, Oregon) 1903-1919, 1919-05-03

u
be at any time during the motoring
season, the valley dolled up in its
gladdest attire and the weather-for-
getting about a cloudy day now and
Aen-ideal for driving.
So many inquiries have been made
regarding the condition Of the eoun-
try roads out of Salem, especially those
on the west side of the river, that the
automobile editor of the Capital Journ-
al, determined to get some first hand
information. An inquiry at the Graham
& Lacey salesrooms regarding the nayi-
gability Of the highways brought o re-
sponse in the shape Of j. W. Parker,
driving Studebaker "Iittle Six, ;"
drawn up at the front door and an in
vitation to go out and see for our
selves.
See Valley Now
We did. And the result of our find
| ings can be summed up in a few words
to this effeet-the Salem motorist who
doesn t get out and see some of the
things that are to be seen in the sur
rounding country within a radius Of
30 miles within the next few days is
not getting his money s worth out of
his machine. The roads are not such
that you will mistake them for speed
ways, oh no, but they can be covered
with comfort and without damage to
a car.
Our route lay from Salem to Inde-
pendence, thence to Monmouth and
Dallas and back to this city by way
Of Rickreall, q distance of approx
mately 3S miles. 1t is a loafing pace
three-hour drive, with from half to
three quarters Of an hour taken out
for stops, and an ideal spin for the
late afternoon and early evening
hours.
Scenery Beyond Description
Right now the scenic beauty of this
little trip is beyond description. There
is hardly a rod Of the road that doei
not present landscape view but
which would delight an artist s heart
and inspire his brush. Brilliant greer
fields stretching away to equally yer
dant hills, freshly clothed shrubs dnc
small trees mingling with the sombei
tones of the evergreens, splashes Of
color here and there where the wild
flowers or the orchards are in bloom
all of that and a thousand times o.
much is just waiting for you and th'
other fellow to go out and drink at in
True much of this beauty will remain
Throughout the summer, but much OF i
won Z. The freshness will be gone, th'
roads will DE dusty and the sun hot
) ter. Also, as the season advances 81
will motor paths open further and fur
. ther into the mountains, or toward tn
; coast and the call Of the road Will lea'
lthe motorist further away from home
These little valley jaunts are for to
day and tomorrow, little pace finder
for the longer trips ahead.
! "Choppy" Road Encountered
When we headed the little Stude
lhaker's g nose out Of Salem we did 81
with the expectation Of finding som,
bad roads. Well we did and we did
MT. Between the west end of the in
ter.county bridge and Brunk's corner
where we turned to the left into IN
lIndependence track, the whole 81
miles of road is "chOppy. - 1t is rut
ted lengthwise and across the grain
but here and there a bit Of the oil
mrHaeing remains around the holes
ITwenty miles an hour over this strete
would be good for the digestion, bu
not exceptionally good for the ear
1--we did Il at around Is and, thanks I
IMr. Parker's wheelwork and the rid
inc qualities of the "Little Six, "
wns able to make connections betwee'
my pencil and log book when the nee
arose.
From Brunk's corner into Indepent
Ienee a motorist who wants to test IN
new 30-mile speed limit set by the las
Legislature has a chance to try 1T out
The road here is good, except for
short spaee across the fill within tn
eitv limits of Independence. Turnin
to the right in Independence from IN
main street into Monmouth street tn
riding Is good as far as the end Of tn
pavement. From there on into Nor
mouth it is repetition of the frs
six miles over again.
Monmouth to Dallas Fine
The Dallas road, leading out of Nor
mouth past the Normal school, is !
fine shane as far as the cross road
fexeept for a few overprominent eros
walks in Monmouth about mile an
a half out. Here, keeping straight, "
ran into half mile or more Of loos
gravel almost hub deep in places an
had visions of Mr.. Parker reaehin
for the gear shift. I was too visionary
tba little ear went deeper and deepe
into the erumbling pebbles, but tn
motor kept its same steady purr an
we kept right on going in high. v
didn 4 move out Of that gear on tn
entire trip, except to start from
stand. AT the end of the loose grave
we left all of our road troubles behin
and fairly sailed into Dallas.
Every mile Of the return route, froi
1 the edge of the "Prune City" to y
lem Is 522s feet tplus) of those 'ehol
pyp kind Of roads, perfectly passabl
and not back breaking if your ear ride
easv. but hardly the type Of highwa
Won would write volumes in praise OF
Luckily. this piece Of road. as well
the stretch between Brunk's eornf
land Monmouth and four miles Of th