The Clio messenger., 1921-05-12
The Giant Geyser, Yellowstone.

petual guard over Seattle, Tacoma
and Olympia. Anyone who has be-
held its many moods, who has watched
the ever-changing picture as varying
lights have played upon its summit,
who has coasted on its glacial rivers,
can understand why the Indians
called it .'Tahoma-the mountain that
was god"
Mt. Rainier has a glacier system
exceeding in size that of any other
single mountain within continental
United States. From its summit and
cirques % named and a number Of
unnamed rivers of ice pour slowly
down It's sides. These rivers of ice
have carved on what was once a per-
feet cone IA valleys through the solid
rock. A bird's-eye view taken from
above the mountain would show II to
be covered by an enormous frozen
octopus, stretching icy tentacles down
among the rich gardens of wild flow
ers and through forests Of fir and
cedar.
Switzerland. the playground of Eu-
rope, visited annually (until 1879 by
more than 100000 Americans, cannot
compare in attractiveness with the
High Sierra of central California.
Nothing In the Alps can rival the fa-
nous Yosemite valley, which Is as
unique as the Grand canyon. The view
from the summit of Mt. Whitney sur
passes that from any of the peaks of
Switzerland.
Wonderful Birds and Flowers.
And then, as to birds and flowers,
the High Sierras so excel the Alps that
there Is no comparison. Never will
the writer forget the melodies Of the
birds and the luXuriance of the mead
Ows passed in the marches from Red
wood Meadow to Mineral King, and
then up over Franklin Pass; the fields
of blue, red, yellow, orange, white and
purple flowers, all graceful and
fragrant, or the divine dignity of the
great Siberian plateau, nearly 1000
feet above the sea, and yet carpeted
from end to end with blue lupine and
tiny flowers.
From the educational point of view,
the High Sierras so surpass the Alps
that again no comparison can be made.
In one days ascent we observed fauna
and flora to see the equivalent of
which on the Atlantic coast we would
have to make a journey of perhaps
1900 miles. When we started in the
morning we were hearing birds that
correspond to the latitude Of Charles
ton, S. c.; In few hours we had trav-
eled northward to Newfoundland and
Labrador, and then descended to camp
amid feathered friends whose counter
parts are found around the writer's
farm near Washington, ID. G. A day
later we ascended Mt. Whitney, the
highest peak in the United States,
and had a glimpse of birds of the
arctic zone.
Oldest of Living Things.
Within the boundaries of the Yo-
semitic and Sequoia national parks
tower the oldest of living things-the
Sequoia gigantea.
1t is an unusual experience to stand
under these big trees, to gaze upon
their stately proportions, to reflect
upon the storms and stress they have
survived, and to visualize the strange
changes In human history that have
taken place since they were seedlings.
Long before Moses had led the Chill
dren Of Israel out Of Egypt, long be-
fore his brethren had carried back to
their father Joseph's blood-stained
coat of many colors, long even before
the birth of the patriarch, whose chill
dren, and whose children's children
to remotest generations the Most High
promised to bless, even before the
aged pyramids had reared their heads
on the banks of the Nile, long CEN
turtles before the hanging gardens Of
Babylon had been constructed, these
trees had begun to grow.
Thousands of years the General
Sherman tree has stood, offering Its
head to every passing thunder cloud;
but so strong and sturdy is II that,
like Ajax, it can defy the lightnings.
The wonders of the Yosemite ma
tional park are easily accessible via
the Yosemite valley, where accommo-
dations are provided for every degree
Of income. Desmond camps and ex-
cellent government trails enable the
visitor to see the giant trees, water
wheels, and canyons, while the more
adventurous, who desire to ascend
Mount Lyell and its magnificent neigh
bors, will find entertainment In Tuo-
lumne meadows, at the hospitable
headquarters Of the Sierra club, an or
ganization OF mountaineers who have
revealed the Sierra to the world.