“ You phone the Careys–the Careys, to be sure, own a motor vehicle of a sort, but even you used to smile when they spoke of it as a car. You are piqued to find the Careys unresponsive. They are ever so much obliged–but they’ve been out over the road in their own car, many times. And motoring tires them.
“I should say it would!” you say ironically, and horrify your wife by not hanging up the receiver on your words. You do find company; the Grayson girls have been dying to have you get a car. One of them climbs into the front seat with John, the other sits with Paul, and the mother in the back. ”

“ Now the railroad track is below and again it is above the road. As your car lunges from one pretty stretch to another, Mount St. Helens, Mount Adams and Mount Hood alternate in sentinel duty on the eastern skyline, and the variety of scenery is completed by farms and orchards that dot the lowlands.
Perhaps the cream of the trip was the pull up over the Germantown road and Skyline boulevard and the pleasant coast down Cornell road. Any old time you want to ascertain whether or not your motor’s lungs are in good shape, turn it loose on the Germantown hills. ”

“ It extends back in a gentle slope to the range of mountains that forms the west barrier of the Hood River Valley. The ridge of Big Mitchell’s is sharp edged. The mountaineer who dares an ascent of it must crawl on hands and knees to reach the summit, at the very point, and the topmost points of both these peculiar crags of the Cascades jut over their bases.
While most of the salient points of the Cascades along the Columbia have some interesting significance in Indian legend, no authentic legend has ever been told of Mitchell’s Point. ”

“ It is the oldest known forest in the world. Professor Fernow, the eminent German forester, formerly of the University of Berlin, and now connected with Cornell University, who laid out the forestry system of the United States for the government, says of this forest that it is the most interesting, beautiful and noble of any forest of the world; that aside from the fact of its giant sequoias and the large variety of other trees, the California Redwood park possesses a woodsiness and charm that is a constant delight to the visitor. ”

“ A glimpse of every kind of road now in use in this country is afforded, and doubtless our ancestors at some later date, when this country will boast a nation-wide system of roads such as is common in Europe to-day, will look with interest at the evolution of the road from the virgin clay to the perfect cement boulevards which are springing up now in sections along every part of the Lincoln Highway. ”

“ Helens workmen are busy perfecting the finest kind of a road, and an insignificant detour is necessitated as a result, but the road that they have completed at the other end is worth going a long way to meet. The motorist is, of course, made happy by the warrenite that bridges the gap between the Standard Oil plant and Claremont Tavern.
Every motorist has learned of that stretch of road by experience, but comparatively few know that a solid ten miles of highway between Linnton and the Columbia County line, not far this side of Scappoose, had been matted down into a veritable boulevard. ”

“ You can think out the most perplexing business problem while driving down Broadway at five o’clock on a Saturday afternoon. If you were suddenly to be deprived of your torpedo-bodied servant you would feel as though you had lost your legs. ”

“ If an electric were to be built for long trips it would be too heavy; an internal-combustion motor car, however, can easily be built for a range two or three times larger than the one now usual. An internal-combustion motor car can be supplied with new energy in a few minutes, whereas it takes several hours to charge the storage battery of an electric automobile. A person making short trips about the city may well get along with an electric automobile with one battery. ”

“ However, on approaching a questionable place, it saves time and wear and tear on car and nerves to get out and throw the brush in and make a road before attempting to drive through. In starting from a standstill in a difficult position, it is necessary to take care that the car starts gradually, so as not to put a sudden strain on any of the driving parts. This is a very difficult thing to do with a clutch which is severe and engages without, any slippage. A cone or disk clutch is likely to become very severe through dryness and dust. ”

“ If the ancient forest of cedars clothing the sides of the mountains of Lebanon were famed the world over for their beauty and enduring qualities, and were visited yearly by multitudes of pilgrims, how much more worthy of a niche in the temple of fame are the giant trees of California. ”

“ If you find you can neither retreat nor advance, do not make the mistake made by all novices and most professional drivers and punish your motor and car by trying to buck through by main strength and awkwardness, but get out and shovel the sand from in front of the wheels, especially the front, and cut some brush and throw in the path of the rear wheels to give them traction, and you will be surprised how easily the car will move out. ”

“ Should the motorist care to take the short run into Snohomish, he will find good roads and pleasant scenery. The pathfinder did not include the mileage from the forks into Snohomish, so those automobilists who continue on into the city should, upon returning to the forks in the road, set their odometer back to 44.4 miles in order that there be no possibility of getting off the route on the return run.
From the forks in the road to Bothell one traverses a beautiful backwoods country. The roads are above the average, and there is a diversity of forest, field and stream views that is pleasing. ”

“ The beautiful climate and attractive scenery of this section is drawing people more and more to it. Homes are spreading out, mounting higher and higher on the hillsides, and what a few years ago was considered an undesirable location is now being taken up by those who cannot get land nearer the railroad.
The road leads through Kentfield, and when Ross was reached we found that the road would bear comparison to any boulevard. From Ross to San Anselmo the road was fine enough to permit of a car speeding to its limit, but no one with an eye for beauty could bolt through that country. ”

“ And some one told some one else, and that some one else asked “Cash?” in the hearing of an automobile agent. And the automobile agent said: “Who?” and jotted down your name. And whenever one automobile agent says “Who?” and jots down a name, every automobile agent within fifty miles feels a jerking in his right hand, and if he just puts a pencil into it and lets it write, it will jot down that same name, as everybody who has had business with an automobile agent knows perfectly well.
So next morning early a dashing machine rolls into your yard and is put through its tricks. ”

“ It’s a mighty good thing to have a faithful
The roads to the east of Portland through most delightful touring country.
Highway to the west of Portland that will provide the visiting motorist with many interesting side trips.
warning signal when you are wandering around on the hills west of the city.
After topping the long hill in “slicker than a whistle” fashion," we were anxious to get back home, so it took to the left at the first fork in the road, and it wasn’t long until it had packed us from the skyline boulevard to the Cornell road. Right here allow us to make a recommendation. ”

“ Springs of boiling water are side by side with springs whose temperature is much cooler than the atmosphere. The steam and mineral springs oozing up out of the ground turn it into mud, the properties of which contain healing qualities that are unexplainable. Those who live there the year in and out tell some strange tales of these waters that trickle down from the springs. They say that in the winter time, or at seasons when but few visit the springs, the wild animals, among which are deer and even bear, have been seen coining down into the creek bottom to bathe. ”

“ In the end you buy a car of which you had never thought before, you pay $500 more than you expected to pay, and the crowd of agents departs with dire prophecies as to what will happen when you are doing forty on a crowded boulevard some evening and your lights go out suddenly. ”

“ A good automobile road is now complete into this California redwood park. This park is the property of the State of California, and is free to all. It is a people’s playground. Camping is allowed under the direction of the park warden without charge. The grounds at Governor’s Camp have a perfect sewerage system, and pure mountain water is on tap at convenient intervals.
The new road is from 16 to 24 feet wide with a maximum grade of 5 per cent in a few places. ”

“ This suggests the idea that a car of light weight constructed of strong, tough material is best suited for this class of work. It should have nine inches or more clearance and the fly-wheel should have greater clearance than the axles. The carburetor and magneto should be protected, both above and below, from the dust and sand which is thrown against the hood and pan by the front wheels. All grease cups should be lined and screwed down often, so that the grease squeezes out of them, for when the bearings are full of grease no dust nor grit can get in. ”

“ A taxicab company, however, must have at least two batteries for each car, one of which is being charged while the other is at work. Even so, the business of running taxicabs in a large city has its difficulties, for unexpected lengthy trips may lead to an exhaustion of the accumulators, which means an economic loss. The conditions are much more favorable when an electric automobile is employed as a delivery wagon by department stores, breweries, etc. In that case trips are, as a rule, similar, and it can easily be calculated whether the car will return strong or nearly exhausted. ”

“ Instead, however, of going forth to accumulate the goods and chattels of others, the motor car owner goes forth to discover for himself those pleasures of nature which others enjoy, and which through the goodness of the Great Creator, are for those who seek. ”

“ If the oil is running out of every joint you are sure no sand is going to destroy the gears and bearings. The oil in the crank case should be drawn off and fresh oil substituted every 500 miles of desert driving on account of the dust entering the motor through the carburetor and breather tube. ”

“ A spring repair outfit, consisting of a bar of steel with clips to hold it in place, may stand you in good stead if your car has seen much service. These things, with the possible exception of a blanket or robe for each passenger, and some assorted nutritious canned foods, are all that are required for the most strenuous jaunt through the unfrequented wilds, for it is essential that you keep the load down to the lowest possible figure when you expect to travel in sand. ”

“ You are perfectly comfortable–was not one of your reasons for buying the car the fact that “the body springs make the upholstering a luxury, not a necessity?” Your only concern is that your agent should not see you. If he does, he will be up in the morning to bully you into trading for a seven-passenger.
The rains come on and you take to walking. Because, of course, a car will never be the same after being wet. And you still admonish your boys to refrain from racing, each time they leave the yard. There is nothing worse than racing. Your car is still in cotton wool. ”

“ When driving on a road with a high center and ruts on each side, it is well to take no chances, but to straddle one of the ruts by putting one wheel on the center and the other on the high ground outside the rut and proceed very slowly in order not to slip back into the road and damage oil reservoir or differential case. ”

“ Interesting Tour Out of Seattle Made Possible by the Motor Car
For a short day’s run in the backwoods country, with an occasional city along the route, the trip mapped out to Edmonds, Everett, Snohomish and return by way of Bothell is one that is featured by diversified scenery and good roads practically all the way. The circuit calls for 75.7 miles of travel. This distance is ideal for the motorist who delights in traveling leisurely and prefers a picnic luncheon to one in a restaurant. ”

“ Engineers declare that no other highway in the world has ever been constructed just as the third of a mile around Mitchell’s Point. For several hundred feet the road passes through a tunnel cut in solid rock. ”

“ The film is a panorama of some of the most beautiful country to be seen east of the Rocky Mountains, and the interest of the observer is held closely as city after city stage extravagant expositions before the camera’s eye. The Lincoln Highway interest which exists across the East and Middle West is shown in a wonderful degree by the thousands who swarm and cheer before the camera at every stopping place. ”

“ The distance from San Jose to the Saratoga summit, where the new State road starts, is 17 miles, according to the speedometer. The grade is rather heavy between Saratoga and the summit, and at times Osen shifted to the second but never into the low gear.
Returning, the trip was all made on the high gear. No braking was necessary in descending the east side of the summit into the Santa Clara Valley. *⁠*⁠* “A great deal of what we call pleasure is largely imaginary,” said the ready made philosopher.
“I suppose so,” replied the man who was working on his automobile. ”

“ Now, having the car ready for the grind, we will consider some suggestions touching on the actual work of handling it on desert roads. When you come to the point where your road map tells you that you will encounter several miles of deep, fine sand, you should deflate your tires to fifteen to twenty-five pounds pressure, according to your load and tire size. Four and one-half inch tires should carry twenty-five pounds ”