Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-07-17
NATIONAL PARK ROADS 2
AIDED BY lO.YEAR PLAN
Highways Through Country's Beauty
Spots, Being Improved, Will Better
States Approaches.

are manifold. The prob.
lem of obtaining water is solved by,
piping it throughout the parks so that
one may draw 1t from spigots at a.
great many points. Since the avail
ability of pure water is an important
touring item, this in itself is a strik-
ing development.
The problem of obtaining food en-.
route likewise is solved most efficiently
by providing delicatessen establish.
ments. The motor tourist also is Of
fered such special conveniences as
laundries operated in cafeteria fash
ion. where the facilities await use by
the individual.
Living conveniences by no means
are confined to camping. Some OF the
parks boast of hotels and permanent
camps, and in some of the hotels are
available the luxuries which may be
had in the finely appointed city hos
telry. In the camps the visitor may
live quite comfortably and econOmi-
cally.
Plan Is Hotel-Like.
Their plan is hotel.like in that the
tourist is assigned a tent or cabin and
eats his meals in large central build
ing which is the living room of the
~Ahps SonIp I6HlCu dl
and the tourists gather around them
to sing songs and spin yarns of their
travels. The park camp grounds are
so popular that many who might be
enjoying the comforts of the best
hotels prefer them for their oppor-
tunities for coming closer to life In
the open. Thus is effected a very,
definite Americanizing influence by
the national parks.
There the man who drives the hand
some brougham mingles with the in.
dividual who has come in at the wheel
OF a decrepit little car that has ratified
wheezingly over the road. The wealthy
traveller may have his expensive camp
ing equipment, while the poorer motor.
list may have his car laden down with
bed spring strapped to it's top and
score of unsightly bundles tied to
the sides and rear. But at night they
are comrades. The bank president
finds a bond Of comeraderie with the
proprietor of small grocery shop in
a remote country town. They meet
as they may never meet again. but
each enjoying the relationship to the
utmost and benefiting by the brush
Ing aside of anything that suggests
falsely promised social caste.
Parks Are Accessible.
All 10 national parks are easily &C.
cessible. They are situated upon rail-
way lines and may be reached by au-
tomobile over good roads. They are
widely scattered. and. while they are
for the most part westerly in their sit.
uation. they are successful in attract
ing large numbers of Fasteners, who
make one or more of the parks their
stopping places on the annual trip in
the direction Of the setting sun. The
parks established at present have their
locations in Arkansas, California,
Washington, Oregon, Oklahoma. Mon.
tana, Wyoming, Idaho, Utah, South,
Dakota. North Dakota, Colorado and
Maine. with two more in Hawaii and
Alaska. The largest is the wonderful
Yellowstone. extending into three
States-WyOming, Montana and Idaho
with a total area of 3,34S square
miles.
For the Fasteners there IL being
developed Lafayette National Park, on
Mount Desert Island, Me-. where a
group OF low granite mountains form
the most prominent elevation along
the whole Atlantic Coast of the United
States. Majestic pines and cedars sur.
round the lakes and ascend in impress
sive array the sides of the more than
dozen mountains in the park. There,
too, are shrubs and Towering plants i'm
abundance to mark the spot as a viii.
derneSs representative of the finest
woodland regions of the eastern sec.
ton of the country. Earth and sea
are well blended in Lafayette Park,
where the lashing waves beat upon
the granite coast.
Wonders Are Numerous.
Wonders of the national parks are
myriad in number. Their preserva.
ton to conserve the native wild life of
America is coupled with their possess
sion or scenic marvels unsurpassed by
any OF the grandeur of the Old World.
There IS the Yellowstone. with its =
steaming geysers and it's $500 SQUARE
miles OF woodland. in which no rife
has been fired for more than 80 years.
The Yosemite contributes its tremen.
dous falls of 1.430 feet. and it's sum.
mits rising from $500 feet to more
than a mile. The Sequoia National
Park holds forth still another natural
wonder in its giant trees, as great as
800 feet in diameter and 279 feet in +
height. These are the monster sequoia
trees, and among their number are
some whose age matches. If not sur
passes. the oldest living thing. Three
thousand or more years are their es-
timated ages. placing their youth in
the days before the pyramids or the
golden age of Greece or Rome.
Whether. then. the motorist seeks
merely life in the open. touring among
pre-eminently picturesque surround.
ings, or looks for Natures choicer bits
of verdant finery or wonders of pre.
historic origin. he is certain to find
any or all of his goals in the national
parks. There he may wander at will
to gaze in awesome admiration at
sheer cliffs, boiling springs and in.
teresting wild life, and know that be- :
fore him is being spread book Of
Natures secrets. Natures proudest
treasures, from whose contemplation
he may draw instruction, enjoyment
and more intimate and valuable g
of his own land.