The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1922-08-16
ON SECOND THOUGHT
BY JAY E. HOUSE.
tFrom Philadelphia Public Ledgsr.)
Having Good Time; wish You Were
Here

Plattsburg, Aug. s.
There is, SO far as 1 know. no more
satisfactory motor highway than this
main-traveled road thru the Adiron-
dacks. From Saratoga to Plattsburg
it is the almost perfect route. 1t is
pretty good road from Albany to Sara
toga. and were it not for the sleight-
of-hand performance necessary in get
ting thru Cohoes would be satisfactory.
The bane of motoring is lack of tech
nique in negotiating the route thru
the cities and larger towns. I suspect
1T is gift The people are accommo-
dating and obliging and will stop loaf
ing long enough any time to instruct
tourist in the intricacies of getting
thru the fair community with which
they are identified. But after they
have gone to the trouble of disclos-
ing the exit the poor fish knows no
more about it than he did before.
After he has driven couple of
squares he is again inextricably en-
tangled in his own confused sense OF
Instance and direction, and is COM
PEELED to stop and make further in
quiries. The average number of in
quiries made necessary to a tourist
in city of $4,000. people is four The
number increases at the ratio of two
to every additional $4,000 of popula-
ton But motoring thru cities and
large towns does put one in delight
rul and intimate touch with the for
eign- born citizens of this republic.
Whlch does not make its entrance and
exit thru the foreign colony.
That is one beautiful thing about
this Adirondack trail. 1t leads it's de-
voices thru no maze of corporate
municipalities. After one has done the
trick of getting thru Cohoes he is free
TO Montreal. 1t is good all the way,
but from Keene to Plattspurg it is a
velvet ribbon winding its way thru a
stupendous aggregation of natural
wonders. And there is only one hill.
Between Eliza BEETHOVEN and Keene one
travelling northward drops somewhat
precipitately off the side of the Adiron-
dack mountains. Travelling south
ward, Henry car would find the
ascent a trifle annoving. But the
road can be traversed either way in
perfect safety. All the way it is
wonderful panorama of woods and
waters, of greenery and flora, of lofty
mountains, whispering pine forests,
ripping lakes and purling brooks. 1t
| is curious thing that nobody stops
to look at the picture. But apparently
nobody does The road was full of
| cockroaches going and coming. But
the eyes of those who rode the cock
reaches were on the trail ahead. So
far as my observation went, there was
only one car on this road today which
was not being driven at rate of speed
| in excess of thirty-fiVe miles an hour
sleep in an American-pIan hotel over
night Or, possibly. they were hurry
! ing home for cup of good coffee. AS
the days wear on it is becoming in
creasely plain to me that good coffee
| can be found no nearer at hand. Only
once did see anybody looking at any
thing. That was at Ausable Chasm.
Most of the cars went right on thru,
but few tarried the while their oc-
cupants gave the chasm the once over
| a. H.. IL
The fox farm had the larger share OF
the patronage. Except cursorily and
casually, I didn't see the chasmt my
self; went to the fox farm.
One thing it certain; if tourist goes
thru the Adirondacks without adding
a balsam pillow to his store of useless
belongings, that is his fault Resident
members of the Adirondacks Society
for Taking 1t From the Tourist cannot
be blamed. They have provided the
pillows. They can be purchased at
any farmhouse en- route: Selling bal
sam pillows is, / should say, the basic
industry of the Adirondacks, since 1t
employs more people than any other.
But, curiously enough, there is no
general agreement as to how the word
| "balsam' should be spelled. Perhaps,
one-third of the vendors spell it bal
SON." And even among those reared
on it's shores there is no general agree
ment as to the spelling of Schroon
lake. Within the distance of a mile
we saw it spelled three ways in total
of five attempts. The percentage
standing OF the Adirondacks Spelling
association is only a little better than
that of the Phillies. The Adirondacks
farmer is no less versatile in other re-
spects. If he isn't running a hotel,
tea room or a filling station he is
selling the tourist apples, peaches
sweet corn, watermelon, soda pop, hot
dogs or garden truck. One place had
a sign, water for Sale A purling
brook from which any tourist might
dip water ran just below his house.
In the Adirondacks opportunities for
filling a radiator present themselves