56 OUR NATIONAL PARKS 



sometimes lifts a boiling column 20 feet in diame- 

 ter to a height of 60 feet. But all these are far 

 surpassed by the Excelsior. Few tourists, how- 

 ever, will see the Excelsior in action, or a thou- 

 sand other interesting features of the park that 

 lie beyond the wagon-roads and the hotels. The 

 regular trips — from three to five days — are too 

 short. Nothing can be done well at a speed of 

 forty miles a day. The multitude of mixed, 

 novel impressions rapidly piled on one another 

 make only a dreamy, bewildering, swirling blur, 

 most of which is unrememberable. Far more 

 time should be taken. Walk away quietly in 

 any direction and taste the freedom of the moun- 

 taineer. Camp out among the grass and gentians 

 of glacier meadows, in craggy garden nooks full 

 of Nature's darlings. Climb the mountains and 

 get their good tidings. Nature's peace will flow 

 into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds 

 will blow their own freshness into you, and the 

 storms their energy, while cares will drop off like 

 autumn leaves. As age comes on, one source of 

 enjoyment after another is closed, but Nature's 

 sources never fail. Like a generous host, she 

 offers here brimming cups in endless variety, 

 served in a grand hall, the sky its ceiling, the 

 mountains its walls, decorated with glorious paint- 

 ings and enlivened with bands of music ever play- 

 ing. The petty discomforts that beset the 

 awkward guest, the unskilled camper, are quickly 



