Canddian Foivslrij JoiiriKtl, Aiujiisl, lUl/ 



1239 



will be dilTiciili to iiiul an\\vlicro in 

 the world a lour wiiich can surj^ass 

 the attraclions which this new road 

 will open — hundreds of miles of con- 

 tinuous travel through alpine scenery 

 of unsurpassed grandeur, over a road 

 which has an elevation of nearly a 

 mile above sea level but never ex- 

 ceeds a grade of six per cent. — this 

 will form a holiday tour which few, 

 if any, other countries can offer. 

 The road is already open from Cal- 

 gary to the Divide and under con- 

 struction in British Columbia. It 

 is expected that a branch road will 

 also be completed in the near future, 

 to Lake Louise. Last autumn sev- 

 eral hundred cars came to Banff from 

 the prairie provinces and this is un- 

 doubtedly only a beginning of the 

 tide of travel which the future is 

 likely to develop. Thousands of 

 prairie farmers now own cars and a 

 trip to the heart of the mountains in 

 a pleasant and inexpensive way is 

 already within their reach. Calgary 

 is only 70 miles from Banff; the crest 

 of the Divide, 30 miles farther. With 

 good roads this is a journey of only a 

 few hours. As soon as they realize 

 the situation, there is no doubt that 

 increasing numbers will avail them- 

 selves of this opportunity. Last sea- 

 son, many motorists brought with 

 them tents and camping parapher- 

 nalia. As a rule this class of tourist 

 prefers to "camp out" while in the 

 parks in preference to staying at 

 hotels and during the past summer a 

 permanent camp site charmingly sit- 

 uated at the junction of the Bow and 

 Spray rivers, was laid out for their 

 accommodation. This year the differ- 

 ent Automobile Clubs of Alberta are 

 holding an "auto week" at Banff 

 when a programme of special attrac- 

 tions will be arranged for their amuse- 

 ment. 



The Rockies Next 



Motor travel has in the last decade 

 made a playground of the White 

 Mountains; in the next it seems likely 

 to discover the Rockies. No esti- 

 mates have yet been made as to the 

 value of this class of travel but its 

 sum total is no doubt large. In the 

 Pacific Coast and Western States, 

 [i is considered so important that an 



organized effort is being made to 

 attract it. Denver recently spent 

 $75,000 in advertising its attractions 

 and expects, it is said, to get .S-jO,- 

 000,000 in return, largely through 

 motor travel. These figures are en- 

 ormous and at first sight unbelievable 

 but they indicate the possibilities 

 which lie in motor travel. 

 ' ' Peop le\s Estates''' 

 The above facts indicate why the 

 Dominion parks may be considered 

 a sound business investment. Money 

 spent in development will undoubted- 

 ly bring in a return many times the 

 amount invested. But the greatest 

 value of national parks after all can- 

 not be reckoned in dollars and cents. 

 Our national parks have great poten- 

 tialities of wealth but they are worth 

 more for their potentialities of pleas- 

 ure and vitality. They are great 

 playgrounds set aside forever prim- 

 arily for the advantage and enjoy- 

 ment of Canadians, so that the time 

 may never come in Canada, as it has 

 already come in many parts of the 

 older countries, when almost all the 

 beautiful wild places of Nature will 

 be in preserves owned by the wealthy 

 and into which the people are not 

 allowed to come. The Canadian 

 parks are in reality "people's estates" 

 providing facilities for the best kind of 

 recreation, that which is found in 

 the great out-of-doors. As such they 

 are reservoirs of pleasure, happiness 

 and vitality the value of which it is 

 impossible to estimate. 



NORWAY HOUSE LOYALTY 



Extract from monthly report, for 

 February, 1917, from Mr. Jas. T. 

 Blackford, Chief Fire Ranger, Nor- 

 way House, Manitoba. 



"In this connection it might be 

 permissible for me to mention that 

 during the month a patriotic concert 

 was given Jiere at Norway House for 

 the entertainment of the Indians and 

 in aid of patriotic funds. Each of us 

 as rangers spent considerable time 

 in planning for the success of the 

 evening and as chairman I gave an 

 address on the L'nion Jack. Pro- 

 ceeds were, with donations, $120. 

 All these things, I believe to be in- 

 directly in line with our work." 



