CHAPTER II 

 "CALIFORNIA, HERE WE COME!" 



Surprise Awaits Arrival 



The approach to California from the east is like entering 

 another world, so great is the contrast. By whatever route one 

 travels, and by whatever conveyance, the impression is that of 

 marked contrast. It is a somewhat remarkable fact that Cali- 

 fornia is separated from all its neighbors by desert. While 

 California is herself in part desert, California's desert is Cali- 

 fornia's own. It is unlike the desert farther east. It is abject 

 desert. It is so desert that it is fascinating. The horned toad 

 and the cactus are its natural habitues. But California is not 

 all desert. The sea is near by. There are valleys that are veri- 

 table gardens. If approach to the State is by the northern route, 

 cold snow-capped mountains greet the eye, and travel is through 

 mountain passes and down rocky defiles cut out by torrential 

 streams in hard lava or granite rocks. Entering the State from 

 the north, Mount Shasta looms in view and dominates the 

 horizon for many hours as the traveller rolls over the smooth 

 highway or the steel rails. Entering the State by the Salt Lake 

 route, a long ride through bleak and barren arid desert, one 

 plunges abruptly into a mountain wall. By feat of engineering 

 skill, roadways by auto or rail bring the traveller through high 

 mountain passes, while snow-capped ranges stand far overhead. 

 Now scenery, the grandest that the mind can conceive, invites 

 on every hand. Here the gold diggers of a past generation have 

 left their marks in the ragged and torn valleys and rough 

 mountain sides. Turn aside and behold the Hetch Hetchy, 

 Tuolumne, Yosemite, and King's River gorges. They over- 

 whelm the traveller with their awe and grandeur. 



