night. Or else he may avail himself of the extraordinary opportunity
which Nature offers him in the mountains which spring from his
comfortable plateau, the opportunity of entering into Nature's very
workshop and of studying, with her for his teacher, the inner secrets
and the mighty examples of creation.

In all our national parks I have wondered at the contentment of the
multitude with the less when the greater, and such a greater, was there
for the taking. But I ceased to criticize the so-called popular point of
view when I realized that its principal cause was ignorance of the
wealth within grasp rather than deliberate choice of the more
commonplace; instead, I write this book, hoping that it may help the
cause of the greater pleasure. Especially is the Rocky Mountain National
Park the land of opportunity because of its accessibility, and of the
ease with which its inmost sanctuaries may be entered, examined, and
appreciated. The story is disclosed at every step. In fact the
revelation begins in the foothills on the way in from the railroad, for
the red iron-stained cliffs seen upon their eastern edges are remainders
of former Rocky Mountains which disappeared by erosion millions of years
ago. The foothills themselves are remnants of mountains which once were
much loftier than now, and the picturesque canyon of the Big Thompson,
through which it may have been your good fortune to enter the park, is
the stream-cut outlet of a lake or group of lakes which once covered
much of the national park plateau.

Summer life on the plateau is as effective as a tonic. The altitude
varies from seven to nine thousand feet; Rocky Mountain's valley bottoms
are higher than the summits of many peaks of celebrity elsewhere. On
every hand stretch miles of tumbled meadows and craggy cliffs. Many are
the excellent roads, upon which cluster, at intervals of miles, groups
of hotels and camps. Here one may choose his own fashion of living, for
these hostelries range from the most formal and luxurious hotel to the
simplest collection of tents or log cabins around a central log dining
structure. Some of these camps are picturesque, the growth of years from
the original log hut. Some are equipped with modern comforts; others are
as primitive as their beginnings. All the larger resorts have stables of
riding horses, for riding is the fashion even with those who do not
venture into the mountains.

Or, one may camp out in the good old-fashioned