The others laughed at this guileless confession, and Mr. Gilroy shook his head despairingly. Then he said, “Well, I suppose I must ’fess up.’”
“Of course, if you have any hidden schemes back in your brain,” Julie retorted.
“This is it! Tally heard of a number of excellent horses to be had from a rancher near Loveland, so rather than wait about here for him to go and bring them back, we will go on to Loveland by train, and start from that place to ride through the Rocky Mountain National Park.
“You see, my first plan is entirely upset by a prairie schooner, an Indian, and a horse-dealer. I had expected to ride from Denver on horses secured there, and go to Ward. Then on across the Divide and so on to Hot Sulphur Springs and Steamboat Springs. But it seems the itinerary revised itself,—and it may turn out to be a good improvement on mine,” said Mr. Gilroy.
“How far is the Continental Divide from Loveland?” asked Joan.
“That all depends on how far we want it to be,” laughed Mr. Vernon. “One can get there in no time, or one can stop at all the attractive points along the trail and spend weeks reaching the Divide.”
Then Mr. Gilroy added, “I propose leaving Loveland by an old Indian Trail Tally knows of, and thus reach Estes Park. We will take in Long’s Peak on the way, and then ride on to the Divide, stopping to climb any peak we think interesting, or visit any park or moraine along the route.”
So the party reached Loveland, where Tally bargained shrewdly with a rancher for the horses and two mules for the tourists. Naturally the rancher wished to sell his horses outright, but Tally convinced him how much better an arrangement it would be for all concerned to rent the animals for the season, leaving a cash security deposited with a bank to cover the loss in case any or all of the horses were lost or injured on the way. If all were returned to the rancher in good condition, Mr. Gilroy would receive his deposit back.
This entire section of Colorado was created a National Park by Congress, in January, 1915. And Estes Park is to the National Park what a beauty patch is to the face of a belle—the point of attraction that focuses the eye of the admirer.
This National Park offers plenty of room for more than a million campers, without one being so near his neighbor as to give a sense of encroachment. For those Americans who love the untrammeled life of the woods, this park provides wonderful trout streams; flora and fauna most surprising and beautiful; and not only plains, valleys, ravines, and mountain peaks as diverting places to visit, but lakes, rivers, falls, and every ideal spot of Nature that one craves to see.