The Dolores star., 1922-04-07


why the President wants a month
to look around In the
Land of the Midnight Sun.
According to the original plans. the presidential
party will by special train to the Pacific coast
probably alighting at San Francisco. Seattle will
be port of call Thence the route will be through
the Inner Passage and on to Alaska. Presumably
Juneau the territorial capital will be visited Ac-
cess to the government railroad, practically
completed, be had either at Seward, its south
terminus, at Anchorage on Cook Inlet. The
road runs from Seward straight north to Fair
banks, about AGO miles Mayfiower, the presiden-
tiai yacht. is likely to be sent through the Panama
canal TO be of service somewhere along the coast
wonderful vacation trip, worth the while even
Of the President of the United States of America.
And the President is known to be lover of the
beautiful and majestic In nature and loyal friend
OF our national parks and of such scenic enter
prfses as the National Park-to-Park highway In
cdentally an effort is being made to get the Presi-
dent to visit this trip one or more of the nation
al parks and the proposed presidents Forest"
on the North Rim of the Grand canyon
In Alaska-"The Frozen North" we used to
call 1.-THE President will have a chance to see
various things that far out of the ordinary
There isn't space here to catalogue them but here
are few that any man would be glad to see:
At ketchkan stream plunges through the GEN.
ter of the town. And In the stream is samon-run
where millions of salmon to be seen making
incredible leaps to ascend the rapids.
Juneau Is the Alaskan capital. There the Presi-
dent can take automobile and drive II miles
right to the edge of Mendenhall glacier. It'll be
summer weather. He can pick flowers by the
way. He'll see vegetable gardens strawberry beds
and wheat fields surrounded by giant forests and
overtopped by peaks white with everlasting snow
OF course the President will strike somewhere
the Yukon-one Of the great rivers of the world
and grandly scenic for the greater part of its 23Oc
miles.
The President Is likely to run across n big herd
OF reindeer anywhere from Point Barrow to the
Alaskan peninsula. There are now about 225 900
of these "Camels of the Frozen North" One of
these days we likely to be eating reindeer meat
instead of beef several thousand carcasses are
TO be shipped in from Nome this year
The seal rookeries on the Prbilof islands should
be worth seeing there 2,71S of these curl
Gus animals according to the seal census of 1920
and they are increasing, although Uncle Sam takes
more than 25,00O skins year
1t Is to be hoped that the President visits the
new katmai National monument-"The Valley of
Ten Thousand Smokes" Katmai volcano on the
Alaskan peninsula blew its head off during three
days in June of 1872 covering all Alaska with
thick coating of dust The explosion left a crater
B.50O feet deep and eight miles around with lake
et the bottom. Close by is valley several miles
tong from which shooting up thousands of
steam Jets some of them thousand feet high
1t s sample Of earth In the making Some day
these steam Jets may cool off enough to become
Reysers, like those of the Yellowstone. In the
meantime cooking is easy in KatmaI.
government
road to the gap in the steel he will have glorious
view Of Mount Mckinley, one Of the great noun.
tains of the world and the central feature of the
k,20O square miles Of Mount Mckinley National
park. 1t rises 2O,3OO feet above sea level and is
most impressive. 1t is wonderful preserve of
Alaskan wild game-caribou bighorn moose, deer
and bear-which live and breed there in immense
humbers. At present this park is inaccessible but
fhe government railroad will touch the new east
boundary line established by recent act of con-
gress. Then there will be rush of tourists-very
few of whom will reach Mount McKinley's glacier
covered summit.
30 Alaskn has the makings of mighty interest
tng vacation trip for the President and his party
But don't get the idea that the Presidents trip
10 wholly and solely a vacation pleasure trip For
the truth Is that 1t is combination of pleasure
and business; II 1t breaks ffty-ifty the pleasure
angle is In luck. For Alaska Is one of the admin
lstraton's problems" And the President is re-
ported to think the Alaskan problem important
enough to warrant frst-hand information.