Two Days on the St. Vrain. 



of those eternal hills. For centuries, these mountains have 

 stood mantled in sombre green or wrapped in snow watching 

 with unchanging mien the tiny humans crawling up and down 

 their sides or along the river's edge. Whether obscured by 

 clouds of mist and rain, or bathed in the warm sunlight of 

 noonday, they are always the same, grand and beautiful. 



As we proceed, the canon grows narrower and narrower. 

 The mountains tower higher on either hand until all we can see 

 are the rugged walls of granite and a clear strip of blue sky 

 over our heads. Now and then a mass of snowy cloud drifts 

 rapidly over, looking like a huge pile of foam floating in a sea 

 of blue. 



Near the "Little Narrows" the canyon walls encroach upon 

 the stream until there is no room for the road. Timbers have 

 been set into the solid rock and a plank road built over the 

 water. A short distance above the "Narrows" the road crosses 

 to the south side, follows the old bed of the stream for a short 

 distance, then crosses back to the north side, makes a sharp 

 turn and enters the "Big Narrows." It seems an impossibility 

 to get through these with our carriage, but the road winds 

 back and forth across the river among the rocks ; a half hour's 

 hard climbing brings us out in a pretty basin near the falls. 

 We all get out, rest up, and hunt specimens for an hour or two, 

 before starting on the return drive. 



The impressive scenery, however, is not the only attrac- 

 tion along this stream, for it is the home of the rainbow and 

 mountain trout. About three miles from town we overtake 

 two anglers and, in answer to our inquiry "What luck?" they 

 raise the cover of their baskets and show us full creels of beau- 

 ties ; one of the largest being sixteen and a half inches in 

 length. 



Just as we reach the open valley, the sun sinks slowly be- 

 hind the mountain tops and shadows creep down the slope 

 behind us. Gradually the shadows grow longer and longer, 

 chasing before them the golden light of day, until all that indi- 

 cates the presence of the sun before the horizon is a bright line 



[105] 



