(There arc so many trips that lovers of the out-of-doors who 

 live in the city can take without any difficulty. The woods and 

 the streams and the lakes are at our very doors. The account 

 of the hike up the St. Croix taken by two tired newspapermen 

 is ?4 i veil merely as an example of how easy it is to get out into 

 the open from the city.) 



TWO tired newspapermen, one feeling jaded as a result of 

 three and a half months at the legislature and the other 

 recuperating from service as a correspondent with the 

 Japanese army at Kio Chau, wanted to get out into the open. 

 Spring was nearly half over and these two hardly knew that 

 things were growing in God's out-of-doors. Time did not per- 

 mit a trip into the far North country. So it was that the val- 

 ley of St. Croix was chosen. 



The start was made from the state capitol at St. Paul. In 

 one hour Stillwater was reached by street car. A flip of a 

 coin turned the weary ones northward. It was the spirit of 

 adventure which decided the direction. 



It was four o'clock in the afternoon when the real hike 

 started. No objective point had been selected for the even- 

 ing stop. There was simply the desire to breathe the pure 

 air and to stop along the roadside and examine all the little 

 growing things that seemed so fresh and so far away from 

 the sordid city. 



The road running north from Stillwater follows the glori- 

 ous St. Croix. Here and there were the remains of some saw- 

 mill that had long ceased to operate. At one time this region 

 was one of the busiest logging centers on the continent. Up 

 and down the hills the two carefree individuals hiked. When 

 they wanted to rest they did so, usually selecting a cool spot 

 overlooking the river. The feathered friends were out to meet 

 them and the calls of the whippoorwill and the evening song 

 of the robin filled the air. 



The legislature, with all its bickerings, was soon forgotten 

 and out of mind and even the exciting days at the siege of 



11 



