The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1920-08-19

The Tourist Rush for Colorado.

lance and mist but is alv.y. Il.
cernible to the natives. On ! ~, ~
day. some OF the mountains .,.
70 near that you can almost ~ N
The spruce trees ON their ~.
sides. but in unsettled weather ~
|ook like . long, scalloped srev i.
barely visible against the 49,
grey Of the sky.
Many Haces to Ga.
As a matter Of fact, the n......
ones are Is miles away. ana -
Of the shortest auto trips from ~ W
yer to the mountains cover, =
miles and takes half day mi. .
The trip through the Denver mnr,s
pal park system, the most nonn,.e
Of all the IA mountain iourre.4
leading first to the city Of CoE.s
the old capital of Colorado. and ~
home OF the state school Of mirss
and thence up Lookout mountsis
Not until you reach Golden. vhics
lies at the foot Of the mountain 4.
you realize how high they ana ~ a
how apparently tortuous the t,,,,
which your automobile is goins "a
On the day that we made tho tn
as a member of a tourist marty -.
gained at our hotel, our hots,
guide. usually a morose, dinn.
pointed looking person. was "a,
some reason in an exceedingly NH,
liant mood. He had a humorou,Iv
fancy name for every tree or roci
that we passed, and when y
reached Golden he stopped the en-
and began a satirical account Of
the hazards we were about to facs
on the climb up Lookout mountain
Unfortunately, however, the back
seat of the car was occupied BY -
couple Of southern ladies' who tool
his harangue quite literally and
who became SO frightened at the
prospect OF driving over the 10
called Lariat trail that they insist.
ed upon getting out of the machine
But l can't make the trip for
any less" objected the disconnected
guide. HE was referring to fares.)
"Oh, we will pay for our share
just the same" declared one Of the
ladies magnanimously, "but I sim.
ply can't go up that mountain. |
had no idea it would be like that
I'm from New Orleans where we're
at sea level or barely above it, and
/ know the altitude would make mo
sick. And just look at the way that
road curves around up there with
out a thing to hold onto"
At this point. one Of the natives
Of Golden approached the car to
see what had happened, and be-
tween his sturdy eloquence and the
impressive assurances of the guide.
the ladies were at last induced re-
luctantly to resume their seats.
Il was only joking" repeated the
guide, as We continued the trip
"Why driving over Lookout noun
tain's about as dangerous as driy-
ing over the plains Of Kansas"
AS we steadily ascended. 1t be-
came apparent that the guides
statement was only too true. No
nerve-racking thrills were encoun-
tered, much to the disappointment
of the little boy who was with the
party, but much scenery of the type
which turns every traveller into .
Colorado enthusiast. At the top Of
the first ascent from Golden the
car stopped and everybody climbed
out on rocky ledge, the timid
southern ladies included, to get a
superb view of the broad valley be-
low. From this point also, the
guide pointed to the giant crevice
at our feet where the first Colorado
gold mine is said to have been 10
Gated, commenting upon the better.
known features OF the early gold
rush.
Where is Bill Buried7
Then, while we were still IN an
historical frame of mind, we were
ordered back in the car and hurried
up and around another curve 10
the spot were Buffalo Bill" is sup
posed to be buried. We say sup
posed. because while the grave
marked by a tall, rough-stone mon
ument is ostensibly there. we were
later informed by Denver residents
that the famous Cody actually IS
buried some IA miles away. HOW
ever, the grave adds to the atmos-
phere of the trip, and affords inc
tourists a chance to exercise tnelr
cameras and legs, as we'll as to Duy
postal cards and soft drinks at :
nearby log pavilion.
The rest of the trip consists OF =
gradual descent through lovely
green stretches of park and then
through Bear Creek Canyon, tne
road bordering gurgling trou'
stream between steep, spruce-coS'
cred cliffs. Here Colorados et'
IRENE solicitude for the tourist y
also apparent. Everything hAs
been carefully labelled for his pene-
fit, in the fear that mere scenery
would not be enough. Thus a roc.
with a hole in it called Inv
Doughnut" and a boulder OF irres.
ular outline "The Hippopotamus.
In a few more years, the wlioes'
western canyons and the most ~.
accessible peaks will be filled WIN
rocky menageries and bakeries lo'
the diversion of the summer traoe'