ILLUSTRATIONS

On the Road to Strawberry Canon
The Laughter of the Brook
Brook and Waterfall
The Turn of the Trail
Mountain and Valley
Sunshine and Shadow
Canon and Hillside
The Bottom of the Canon
Wild-cat Canon
The Trout’s Paradise
Fishing for Brook Trout
They have Stood the Storms of Centuries
Sea Gull Rock
Comrades
Among the Redwoods
A Chinese Shoemaker
In Chinatown
The Breaking Waves
The Glass-bottom Boat
Fog on the Bay
Italian Fishing Boats
Drying the Nets
The Witchery of Moonlight
Mount Tamalpais
An Uninterrupted View
Where the Shadows are Dark
On Bear Creek
The Old Road
It Climbs the Hill for a Broader View
Finis

[Illustration]

Sunset in the Golden Gate

  When day is done there falls a solemn hush: 
  The birds are silent in their humble nest. 
  Then comes the Master Artist with his brush,
  And paints with brilliant touch the golden west.

  The blended colors sweep across the sky,
  And add a halo at the close of day. 
  Their roseate hues far-reaching banners fly,
  And gild the restless waters of the bay.

  Mount Tamalpais stands in purple ’tire
  Against the background, Phoenixlike, ornate: 
  Apollo drives his chariot of fire
  Between the portals of the Golden Gate.

  No other hand than His who rules on high,
  Could wield the brush and spread such bright array
  Upon the outstretched canvas of the sky,
  Then draw the curtain of departing day.

[Illustration]

Brook and Waterfall

California, the land of sunshine and roses, with its genial climate, its skies as blue as the far-famed skies of Venice, and its pure life-giving air, invites the lover of nature to take long tramps over hill and dale, mountain and valley, and to search out new trails in the rugged mountains.

It is a common sight to see parties of men and women meet at the ferry building, dressed in khaki suits, with knapsacks strapped on their backs, waiting to take the boat across the bay to some of the numerous places of interest.  There are plenty to choose from, but most of them go to the same places over and over, instead of searching out unfrequented nooks that give one a feeling of proprietorship when discovered.  It is an old saying, and a trite one, that “Familiarity breeds contempt.”  It is certainly true, however, that we often pass over the familiar and commonplace to go into raptures over some lofty mountain peak, ignoring the gems that lie hidden away at its very base.

There is a quiet beauty in the broad sweep of the valley, a stately majesty in the towering mountains, a restful grandeur in the rounded domes of the tree-clad hills, and an element of strength in the broad sweep of the ocean.  One never tires of watching the constant change of light and shade, for they never appear twice alike.  But we are in search of unfrequented nooks, the byways that others pass unnoticed, so we leave the prominent to seek out the obscure.