The Canon City record with which is consolidated the Canon City cannon. (Canon City, Colo.) 1911-192?, 1919-09-04
Tacoma and Mt. Rainier
BY Guy U. Hardy.


A night and morning ride brought
US back TO Tacoma for luncheon. A
very good luncheon was served at the
Portland for breakfast. but our train
was little late so box breakfasts were
put on the train Portland ladies met
the train with great baskets OF flowers
and decorated our ladies and the cars
as com pletelx and beautifully as tho
II were n wedding party.
We are now in the state OF Wash
ington- Frank p. Goss. city editor OF
the PostInteIligencer. came to the Hot
Springs meeting to tell us what Wash
fngton would do to show US a good
time We find him in charge and
with much more elaborate program
than he had promised. Washington
gave US Ave busy. wonderful. interest
Ing days.
After luncheon at Tacoma sutomo-
biies took the party TO Mt Rainier.
Prominent business men took us up in
their cars. Max Martin. who runs a
book and stationery store doing $780,
600 business a year. took Mrs II. and
me I'm his car. There is very good
road up to Mt Rainier National Park
and twenty miles on to Paradise Inn
Much OF the ffty-sfx miles IL IN for
ests and mountains. On the way we
passed q great forest f1re. The smoke
obscufed the view Of the mountains
from the west A whole side of a
great mountain was on fre and the
smoke could he seen for a hundred
miles When we entered the Park we
had twenty miles Of most charming
and wonderful scenery. The first few
miles takes you thru shady forest
lanes. High above you towers the tall
timber. On either side you look into
dark cevern-like forest scenes. Below
you sometimes look far down the
mountain side into the tree tops be-
low.
The last twelve or thirteen miles of
the ride Is real mountain stuff The
rise from Tacoma 20 Paradise Inn is
about 5000 feet The most OF the rise
comes In the last twelve or thirteen
miles ride Colorado folks are used
TO spectacular mountain drives But
this ride up to Paradise Inn--soo0
feet up the mountain side-was a
thriller for US ms well as for those
from the fat country. have never
had such thrilling mountain ride
before
They know how to handle the traf-
nv ~ A~atftnat Ou tut upper
end OF this drive cars can go only
one way at a time. A block system
Is used. Al each end Of this twelve or
thirteen-miie stretch care are released
on the hour. They meet at q station
In between on the half hour. Teie-
phone messages keep the guards
posted on the number OF cars to look
out for. They must all PASS before cars
are permitted to go in the opposite
direction.
We went up in the evening as the
sun was setting. The view all about.
and OF Mt. Rainier especially. was SUI
perb-splendid- would like to de-
scribe this magnificent mountain so
that you could appreciate its beauty
and grandeur, but I can't do IT, 1t is
too big for me. The qualifying words
have been using for ordinary scenes
do not ht here. don't know any
words that do. When Il comes to de-
scriptive writing old Mt. Rainier backs
me of the board.
In Colorado we look at mountains
from an elevation of from 5000 to
1000 feet In Washington. Tacoma
and Seattle are about sea level. Mt.
Rainier rises 14.40S feet above them.
Our seventy six mile drive brought us
to Paradise Inn, at an altitude OF about
that Of Canon City. Here we are at
the very feet OF Mt. Rainier. whose
rocky. snow-covered summit towers
1000 feet above us.
Paradise Inn is great big hotel
built out OF logs. The lobby ia Ito
by $50 feet. The whole structure is
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