The Oakley herald. [volume] (Oakley, Idaho) 1908-1961, 1920-06-04

Yellowstone, our oldest and most famous ma
tional park-the first national park in the world
never had been success playground. The
truth is 1t is wonderhouse Of freak scenery
geysers, boiling springs, volcanic curosities ana
the Yellowstone Falls Also 1T has It's semi
domesticated bears and its wonderful big game. In
the old days of the stage coach the regulation "Trip
took five days. After that the tourist was ready
to leave And he seldom returned to see the
park second time. Now that the automobile
has taken the place of the coach, the time OF the
regulation trip has been cut In two; otherwise
the same conditions obtain. The Yellowstone at
tendance figures tell the story In lelo, the
attendance was 81, 1906; In 1916 1t was 35,S49; IN
1917 it was 49, 400; in 1913 1t was 21275; In 1919
It was 81 261 BY way of contrast take the cor
responding attendance at Rocky Mountain Nation
al park which Is play ground park where peo-
pie stay their entire vacation time and there are
thousands Of regulars who go every year; o.
600 and 81 900 and 117,1S6 and 1Ol,497 and lo9'-
400 Rocky mountain has no freak scenery, out
its scenic magniicence wears well ana large
nroportion of its visitors regard 1t as their sum-
home.
Tn consequence the national park service is pro-
noting the project of adding about thousand
square miles to the south end of Yellowstone, in
Gliding the Teton range, Grand Teton, Mount
Moran jackson lake and the Jackson Hole region
and the headwaters of the Yellowstone rms al
dIton will give the Yellowstone the KIND or seen
ery IT lacks. Moreover, plans for the farther de-
yplOnment of the YELLOWSTONE lhciuue ihi re duio
mobile camps golf links, tennis courts and the en-
couragement of fishing, mountain climbing and rid
ing In short the Yellowstone is to be made
nlavground sufficiently attractive to hold the tour
Ter for a time and to induce him to return.
Another example of needed enlargement Is Sc
ouoia National park in California. This park was
created in 1890 and contains 252 square miles.
It was created largely for the purpose OF preserv-
ing the Big Trees (Sequoia gigantea)-the pig
pest and oldest living things ON the earth. Inc
General Sherman tree, for example, Is about 80
feet in diameter and is approximately 900 years
old Congress- with an eye to the big trees only,
cut the park boundaries arbitrarily and left out
n magnificently scenic area which lies contiguous.
Features of this contiguous area are the canyons OF
the Kings and Kern rivers and the summit OF
Mount Whitney (14501). the highest mountain IN
continental United States. 1t is now purposed to
add about thousand square miles of this con-
tiguous area to Sequoa and to change its name
to Roosevelt making the enlarged park ma
tonai outdoor memorial to the dead statesman.
Here again the public playground idea is the basic
proposition.
No description do justice to Crater lake
itself Uncle Sam, however, has done good Job
under the circumstances In booklet issued last
season by the United States railroad administra-
ton And this booklet says among other things
All of our great national Fairgrounds have their
distinctive beauties; each Is different In great
measure In the sublimity and attractiveness of
its national grandeur. but Crater lake stands
alone In this: that all likeness to any familiar
landscape here ceases.
Other lands have their crater lakes-Itay, In
dia and Hawaii-and there are some craters In this