82 OUR NATIONAL PARKS 



Hazel Green is a good place quietly to camp 

 and study, to get acquainted with the trees and 

 birds, to drink the reviving water and weather, 

 and to watch the changing lights of the big 

 charmed days. The rose light of the dawn, 

 creeping higher among the stars, changes to daf- 

 fodil yellow ; then come the level enthusiastic 

 sunbeams pouring across the feathery ridges, 

 touching pine after pine, spruce and fir, liboce- 

 drus and lordly sequoia, searching every recess, 

 until all are awakened and warmed. In the 

 white noon they shine in silvery splendor, every 

 needle and cell in bole and branch thrilling and 

 tingling with ardent life ; and the whole land- 

 scape glows with consciousness, like the face of 

 a god. The hours go by uncounted. The even- 

 ing flames with purple and gold. The breeze 

 that has been blowing from the lowlands dies 

 away, and far and near the mighty host of trees 

 baptized in the purple flood stand hushed and 

 thoughtful, awaiting the sun's blessing and fare- 

 well, — as impressive a ceremony as if it were 

 never to rise again. When the daylight fades, 

 the night breeze from the snowy summits begins 

 to blow, and the trees, waving and rustling 

 beneath the stars, breathe free again. 



It is hard to leave such camps and woods ; 

 nevertheless, to the large majority of travelers 

 the middle region of the park is still more in- 

 teresting, for it has the most striking features of 



