234 



AMERICAN FORESTRY 



ON THE DREAM ROAD 



The riling sun tips with fold the distorted branched of old pines and 



spruces as the world awakes. 



of velvety dark green trees. Over all these are the 

 continuously changing lights caused by the shadows 

 from passing clouds. Here the traveler is imbued by the 

 spell of the surroundings. The small fleecy cloud that has 

 appeared near the summit of snow streaked peak; the 

 shower descending far out across the sea of mountains 

 and mesas thrill him with a sense of space and power. 



The thunder rumbles far away. Suddenly this same 

 storm that looked so small breaks with a whirlwind of 

 fury, only to pass in a few minutes, leaving the air filled 

 with a delightful, still freshness. Such storms viewed 

 from the higher slopes add much to the grandeur and 

 beauty of the mountain forests. 



The trail winds down the ridge to a lake tucked away 

 in a heavily timbered catchment basin. Near the outlet 

 of the lake is a park or grass land bordered by a sand 

 beach. Toward its head and in the shadow of a steep 

 slope, lies a mass of lilies with their big flat leaves ap- 

 pearing dark green upon the surface of water. At this 

 lake we stop for lunch and let our horses graze upon the 



dense, tender, grasses. The process of unpacking is 

 inly watched by a big crane as he stands in the 

 water near the end of a sand spit. Because of an ap- 

 petite gained by an early start and a morning in the 

 open, the lunch is delicious. After lunch, for a few rich 

 moments we lie prone in the deep grass to watch a large 

 hawk high in the blue as he circles in curiosity above 

 the feeding horses. 



Leaving this spot, we wander on through an after- 

 noon resplendent with stirring views of vast areas of 

 scenery, ever changing as the lights soften toward eve- 

 ning. At one point, the way leads across a plateau 

 through spruce forests, broken by open or park areas. 

 Here there are many groves of aspen. These trees, with 

 their quivering leaves and graceful white trunks, are of 

 varying sizes. Here is a group of big trees, three of 

 their number scarred by a series of scratches upon the 

 surface of the gray-green bark. These marks, it is plain 

 to any observer, have been made by the claws of a bear 

 climbing the trees. Such scratches widen and deepen 

 as the trees grow older. There is another grove or 





FURTHER ALONG THE DREAM ROAD 



The way leads up the canyon into an outdoor world of life, each turn 



revealing new beauty. 



