66 | RECREATION 
We reached the summit early in the after- 
noon, where we rested and refreshed our- 
selves, and indulged in a July snowball 
fight, at an elevation about 11,000 feet, or 
practically two miles, above sea level. The 
view from this point is grander, I think, 
than from Pike’s Peak. I have been over 
the Rockies at several points by railroad, 
but one cannot get such views from a car- 
window. 
In the afternoon we were off down the 
western side of the Divide and into North 
Park, stopping for some provisions at beau- 
tiful Idlewild, where the stage stops for a 
change of horses on its regular trip to Grand 
Lake and Hot Sulphur Springs. 
We camped that night, our third day out, 
at a point near Coulter’s, another stage stop. 
North Park is some thirty miles long and 
about ten to fifteen miles wide, a fine grazing 
place for cattle. We found the cattle in 
many cases very wild; at times we had 
lively experiences with them. 
We experienced some bitter mjxed with 
the sweet on the day following: one of our 
horses showed signs of having mountain 
fever. Our movements were necessarily 
very slow that day. We expected to reach 
Grand Lake about noon, but we were glad 
indeed to get to our destination at midnight. 
About ten miles out from the lake we had 
to unhitch our sick animal, and had it not 
been for the assistance of some cowboys who 
came up we might have been leit in a bad 
predicament. Miles from water, our party 
tired from the hard day’s trip and our sup- 
ply of food down to rock bottom, we found 
our cowboys friends indeed. Our sick 
animal died, but we secured a horse from the 
cowboys and reached the lake, as I have 
said, late that night, and camped on the 
west shore until morning. 
After pasturing our horses, we secured 
boats and rowed across the lake to our tem- 
porary home, the Cooks’ log house, which 
was built on a huge rock projecting out of 
the water on the east shore. There is a small 
settlement on the west shore of Grand Lake, 
about two and one-half miles distant across 
the lake from the Cook cottage: The lake 
is only three miles long and from one and 
one-half miles to two and one-half miles 
wide; not large, but beautifully situated, 
and its water clear as crystal and literally 
alive with mountain trout. The mountains 
slope down to the lake on the southeast side, 
also on the north. There are two fine 
streams flowing into the lake and one flow- 
ing out. ‘These streams abound with brook, 
rainbow and other species of trout. Mount 
Baldy, set back from the lake two to three 
miles toward the east, is a grand sight, 
which changes from every point of view. 
Mr. Cook has killed many bears within a 
mile of his log cabin. The timber is ver- 
dant, and the country is practically as wild 
to-day as it ever was. 
We spent many days fishing in lake and 
streams in exploring the country. Every 
day was crowded full with new experiences. 
He who has not gone back into the moun- 
tains 75 to 100 miles from any railroad can 
scarcely imagine the feeling of absolute 
freedom and the complete restfulness ex- 
perienced on such an outing. It is worth all 
the hardship in getting there. I like to hear 
the coyotes at night, which we so often did; 
would have liked better to have met one or 
two of them during the day. Often on my 
trips up the mountain I would find fresh 
signs of a bear, but he always kept going and 
going. I would hear a rattle and cracking 
of dead limbs that would give me new 
hope, but I never quite got a look at him. 
Of the deer, the does are quite tame, but 
the antlered ones always keep out of 
sight. There are lots of wild berries in 
that section, which makes it a fine feeding 
ground for bears. The country was liter- 
ally full of birds of many varieties: mag- 
pies, black-and-white, with long tail- 
feathers, were common; the thrush was the 
chief songster of the forests, at sunrise and 
sunset he sang his best; the green-tailed 
towhees sang at all times during the day; 
the meadow larks were constantly heard in 
the ravines. One day I ran across an eagle; 
he flew up and up to the highest cliff of Old 
Baldy, where he probably was guardian of 
a family. 
Before starting back. to Denver we de- 
cided to drive to Hot Sulphur Springs, a 
round trip of fifty miles, and as we had re- 
turned the horse we borrowed we made a 
bargain with a cowboy for a broncho he 
was leading. I offered him thirty dollars; 
he held out for thirty-five and got it. Paul 
was sure it was a good bargain, and our 
