Evening star., 1953-06-07
Scenic. West
Spectacular
ByHighwoy
By MichoeI J. Frome
American Automobile Association


Heading from one coast to
another Is fairly simple these
motorized days. But the journey
West, though it can be done in
a short time. leads to an almost
different world for us Eastern
erS.
There are thrilling views at
almost every turn. In fact. after
returning recently from a swing
through one section of those
broad. Western expanses, this
traveller has the feeling that the
earth's finest sights must be
concentrated in our own great
big backyard.
That is one way to summar-
ize the endless impressions of
the West. Another way is to
define the difference between
East and West. Here we have
cities, with q few trees in be-
tween. Such places as the Great
Smokes. the Blue. Ridge and the
Everglades are our last natural
frontiers. In the West. on tfH
other hand, nature has a field
day. Out yonder there are
great forests, SnoW-peaked noun
tains. deserts and prairies, with
few cities in between.
Lofty Cure for Heot
The West makes for wonderful
vacationing. particularly in the
summer when its high elevation
affords a cool alternative to the
heat OF our parts. But climate
is the least of it. The scenery,
history and the people are the
big inducements of any season.
There are II Western States
and travel adventures in each
OF them. On this recent jaunt,
to take one route as an example,
we travelled through Wyoming,
Utah. Nevada and Northern Cali
fornia. Here is the course we
followed and impressions of some
OF the major points of interest
along the way.
Route 80 is a modern. Well-en-
gineered highway. (That is true
OF almost all the major Western
roads; on upgrades there often
is an extra "creeper" lane.) The
load rises gradually across the
plains and the West clearly be-
gins when Nebraska's grazing
lands fade away into Wyoming's
wide spaces.
Cheyenne is a surprising place.
1t is the capital Of the State but
actually is much smaller than
Alexandria, Va. or Bethesda, Md.
One OF the big events of the
West, Frontier Days, is held at
Cheyenne the last week of July.
Then there are rodeos, parades.
cowboys and Indians in the full
regalia of another day. and tens
OF thousands of visitors.
Modern Accommodations
Like many Western cities,
Cheyenne has top accommoda-
tionS. as modern as any in the
country. Elsewhere in the State
there are dude ranches, with
rates from high to moderate,
coming into greater popularity
with Fasteners.
Salt Lake City, the next major
stopping place, is one of the
most attractive American cities.
1t is in valley, ringed with
snow-capped peaks and it's streets
look wide enough to cope with
any traffic problem-but the
local residents say they have one,
too! This city Of the Mormons
has a really outstanding hotel,
the Utah. and a number of mod
ern motor courts.
Tourist officials in Salt Lake
City feel that it takes two days
to really see the major sights in
their town. There are the grounds
Of the famous Mormon Taber-
nacle and the Mormon Museum,
relating the pioner story of Brig
ham Young and his followers:
the Bingham open-pit copper
mine, and, of course, the Great
Salt Lake. where you can float
along and read a newspaper. if
you have a mind to.
Nevada is a great cowland and
playland. Bing Crosby has a
ranch just outside of Elko. a ris-
ing resort town, of which he is
honorary Mayor, and there are
huge ranches in many sections
Of this sparsely settled State. It