-THE CHANCES FOR LONG-DISTANCE TOURING.
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A Brief Account of an Experimental Trip of Some 2,800 Miles Undertaken in the United States.
T ONG-DISTANCE sight-seeing tour ing by motor coach is, in many countries, as yet in its infancy. Yet auch movement has greet possibilities of development, as is indicated by the success which such tours have achieved in this country, although, of course, total mileages are somewhat restricted in Great Britain.
In the United States the possibilities of the long-distance motor coach tour are gradually being recognized. Trips from New York to Canada, the Adirondack% and to Florida are frequently undertaken, but these runs are for the most part made over good roads. In the less-developed and more rugged west, however, the establishment of regular longdistance tours is slowly coming about. One of these is stated to be in operation, although only at ir
regular intervals, along the Mexican border, and another along the Pacific littoral from San Francisco to Vancouver, B.C. An account of an experimental trip of some 2,800 miles in this part of the world was recently brought to our notice. Twentysix representatives and guests of the Motor Travel Bureau of Denver travelled from that city to Log Angeles and back in one of the five Mack Parlour Car coaches owned by the Greeley Transportation Co., Greeley, Colorado.
For true grandeur of nature, there are few areas that can compare with the country over which the party travelled, but the topography of that section is such that motor transportation is very strenuous, if not impossible, unless the vehicles used be of the most efficient type. Long, steep mountain gradients, hair-pin curves, deep shifting sands, and rough single-track roads are all encountered in turn aloug, the entire route.
Despite their intimate knowledge of ill:these facts, the tourists started on the journey with absolute confideuce. The outward trip was made by way of Cheyenne, Wyo., and included aver-night stops at Rawlins, Wyo.; Salt Lake City and Beaver, Utah; Las Vegas, Nevada; and Yermo, Calif. Although road conditions were quite as bad as were expected, the run was made without special incident, except that the hot sand and deep ruts in the road through the California Desert brought about the complete disintegration of one of the rear tyres.
Even worse conditions prevailed on the return trip for, in the meantime, heavy rainstorms had swept over the entire territory between the desezt country and Rawlins. What had formerly been merely deeply rutted dirt roads were now veritable' rivers of thick slimy mud. In spite of the rough going, the coach made good headway and when it is considered that, in addition to the passengers, the load included 1,000' lb. of baggage and supplies, the merit of this performance will be appreciated.
When Evanstd'n, Wyo., was reached on the fifth day out of Los Angeles, the roads ahead were reported absolutely impassible. Thus a day was lost, but this was the only time lost during the entire trip.
From Rawlins the bus was driven over the main highway to Denver, via Fort Collins, instead of Cheyenne, so that the last lap of the journey was made under fairly good conditions. The trip was completed in 12 days' running time,