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About The Sunday Oregonian. (Portland, Ore.) 1881-current | View Entire Issue (July 22, 1917)
THE SUNDAY OREGOXIAX, PORTLAND, JULY 22, 1917. ROUND TRIP FROM PORTLAND TO BEACH RESORTS REVEALS FEW RE ALLY. BAD STRETCHES OF ROAD, WITH SCENERY FINE Chester Moores Describes Jrip From Portland to Clatsop and Tllamook County. Resorts and Says That, Taken All in All, the Roads Are Not to Be Criticised, but One Really Bad Stretch Is 11 Miles in Clatsop Near Tillamook Line, Which Leaves Distinctly Poor Impression. AUTO DIRECTORY "490" Touring. 625 Portland. "490" Roadster $610 Portland Eodnrmncg Economy gpeed Power REGNER A FIELDS. IC, East 25, B 1233. Grand Ave. at Bur CHEVROLET Ida L 7 a V- , -T ? 77 : : I M'yas,f' - ! - ' i If tf'Z? It " CT ' ' :::;'y'y ' " .' y I .k 1 ) Sli&K " v 1 b f . 'vr; , -. . -VIB o.L V vs ' 1 -'l if I - w t' "v .1 - ' " 1 A5f !S5-9iT - v '-r:"fy I I" I BT CHESTER A. MOORES. ABUNDANT first-hand Information on the present condition of the roads from Portland to the Clat fop County and Tillamook County fceach resorts, as well as on the new road connecting Seaside and Tillamook, was gathered by the newspaper repre sentatives who rode a week ago on the dealers' "honk-honk" tour as the guests f C. L. Boss, local Hudson and Max well dealer, in a Hudson Super Six for he full length of the 300-mile loop rom Portland to Seaside, via the in land route, from Seaside to Tillamook nd the return to Portland. Put briefly, the roads along the course of the famous new loop are In good condition, but this general state ment should be qualified by a few ex ceptions. On the Inland route to Astoria, for instance, there Is a short stretch of rough, dusty road toward Portland from Jlillaboro, a few distressing stretches of corduroy not far beyond the town of Timber and many miles of rough go ing between Jewell and Olney where loose rock Is scattered over the sur face of the highway, making It more disagreeable for travel than It was laat year Longer Route Preferred. A few " of the dealers making the trip to the beaches elected to follow the Lower - Columbia River Highway through St. Helens, Coble, Rainier, Clatskanie, "Westport and Astoria, a route that Is some 20 miles shorter than the Inland course through the Nehalem Valley, but which has been voted the less preferable of the two roads. Those using the lower highway found a long stretch of unpleasant crushed rock in the neighborhood of Westport which prompted them to count tire costs and weigh the wasted minutes as they crept along. The other main handicap on the lower highway Is the road construction activity along the St. Helens road In Multnomah County, where the work of paving crews necessitates detours. There are also other rough' patches of road along the lower highway, but on the whole the remainder of this highway averages up fairly well and many who have traveled both routes in sist that the highway Is in better shape than the inside road. One Stretch Reviled. By far the most terrorizing road of the entire SOO-mile loop from Portland and back to Portland via the beaches was furnished along the new road con necting the Seaside and Tilla mook beaches. Exactly 10.9 miles of this road, all of it In Clatsop County and leading directly up to the Tilla mook County line, is downright rough, so rough in fact that the word road really dignifies It far above its worth. It can, however, be made easily by any car providing the driver is willing to poke along slowly and passengers will ing to take the bumps. Virtually all of the roads running through Tillamook County are In splendid condition. On the beautiful trip back from Tillamook City to Port land all of the 100-mile roadway is in flood condition with the exception of three stretches some 10 miles this side of Hebo leading to the. splendid new "Sour Grass" road, a few miles of rough corduroy and uneven road through the Orand Ronde Indian Reservation lead ing to the town of Grand Ronde and the few miles along the Rex-Tigard road which have been bringing ill fame to that highway for many a moon. On the loop trip a week ago all of Jiie dealers made two side trips from the main highway, the short run over a good road from Seaside out to the Hotel Warren on picturesque Cannon Beach and the five-mile drive from the Nehalem Bridge on the Seaside Tillamook connection through the town of Nehalem to S. G. Reed's justly-renowned tavern at the ocean shore, at the base of the huge promontory, Neah-Kah-Nie Mountain. The condi tion of the road on each of these side trips was favorable o fast, comforta ble travel. Just by the way of diversion and to give the Hudson Six further oppor tunity to demonstrate its remarkable road-covering qualities, the press crew made an extra side trip from Tilla mook City through the pretty woods to the Summer resort at Netarts Bar. sev en miles distant. The road to this point is in splendid condition, much of it being smooth plank. Becaue of space limitations it would be impossible here to set forth a com- BRISCOE AVERAGES St 2-7 MILES TO GALLON ON 240 MILE ROAD TRIP. Th following self-explanatory letter was received last week by A. S. Robinson, Northwest man ager of the Pacific KisselKar branch, from Dennis Matthews, the company's agent at Dlxon vllle, a town near Roseburg: "A few days ago my brother maae a irip to Portland, cover ins me entire aistance or miles from Rnflphnrt, with Brisnnfl 4-24 fin mivun rr 1 1 f r the average travel per gallon being 34 2-7 miles. He carried five full-grown persons and sev eral suitcases. This is an actual fact. The gasoline was taken from the regular service pumps. We might also add that the engine ra perfectly all the time and that the southern part of this road Is very hilly rough." 240 a and plete log of the entire 300-mile city-to-beach, beach-to-beach, and beach-to-city loop. The road books contain this information in detail, and besides al most all of the roads leading to the main towns covered by this trip are indicated by prominent road signs at the junctures that might otherwise prove confusing. Particnlarn Are Given. . It may, nevertheless, be helpful to those contemplating this popular trip to relate briefly some of the experi ences of the Hudson press crew a week ago and give a few brief hints about the motor march from town to town. The distance from Portland to Hills boro, via the Cornell road and Cedar Mills, is about 18.7 miles, with matters rather rough and dusty at the Hills boro end. Except for a, detour around the main street of Cornelius, which is being paved, all of the six-mile road from Hillsboro to Eorest Grove invites a wide-open throttle. Good road connects Forest Grove and the town of Gales Creek, which stand 7.5 miles apart. Most of the 12.9 miles from Gales Creek to the town of Tim ber was in either fine or good shape a week ago, the exception being along a short stretch where a road crew was at work. The distance from Timber to Ver nonla, about 16 miles, is marked by more than a mile of rough corduroy , On &cf? 7hfp id JVsZs r&. Gay? OrficaZ?s?ui? io Seaside - 71773mocJ: that is apt to test any fellow's disposi tion. Most of the remainder of this stretch Is In good shape, but some Is only fair. Fish Hink Road Fine. The road from Vernonia to Mist, 15 miles, Is in fair condition, and the same may be said of the first few miles be yond the edge of Mist, some of which, however, particularly that in the vicin ity of Fish Hawk. Is of fine character. The last 10 miles of the 20.8 miles dis tance between Mist and Jewell is solid with plank, which is smooth enough to make fast travel possible, but which Is so narrow that speed is Impossible on account of the necessity of "jockey ing" a bit when cars are obliged to pass each other. The distance from Jewell to Olney Is substantially 20 miles, and most of it is cursed with the roughness and loose rock mentioned earlier In this article. The last few miles leading into Olney and all of the way from that point Into Astoria, nine miles, Is marked by a near-perfect road, which makes only the fear of arrest the limit of speed that can be maintained. As nearly all motorists know, the bulk of the 20-mlle drive from Astoria on to Seaside Is paved, and the re mainder Is In fair shape, with none of the sand whlqh formerly made this trip hazardous for puny cars. Tillamook Roads Good. The route from Seaside to Tillamook Is the same for the first 4.2 miles as the road to Cannon Beach, but It branches off there to the left of the old Hamlet road. The new road com mences about 14.5 miles out of Seaside and continues for the 10.9 miles of roughness to the Tillamook County line, where good roads usher the mo torist on to Tillamook City, or any of the beach resorts of that county. The entire trip from Seaside to the Nehalem bridge, where one of the roads branch es off to Nehalem and Neah-Kah-Nie, is 31.5 miles. The distance from the Nehalem bridge to Tillamook City is about 27 miles, making the entire con nection between Seaside and Tilla mook slightly less than 60 miles. Returning from Tillamook to Port land, the road is paved for 3.5 miles, and is either fine or good for the re mainder of the way to the town of Hemlock, 10 miles away, and also good all of the way on through Beaver to Hebo, which is a little more than 20 miles from Tillamook. "Sour Grim" Stretcn Fine. It Is about 10 miles from Hebo to the first connection with the cracker-jack new six-mile "Sour Grass" stretch, and most of the 10-mile gap is marked by poor roadway. From the end of the "Sour Grass" road, which totally elim inates the old toll gate at Dolph and cuts down the former grade materially, the roadway is again rough for a few miles through the Grand Ronde reser vation. The speedometer distance from the end of the "Sour Grass" road to the town of Grand Ronde is exactly seven miles. From the town of Grand Ronde on to Portland via Willamina, Sheridan, McMinnville, Newberg, Rex and Tlg&rd and through Bertha Is In splendid con dition except for the few miles of rough going over the Rex-Tigard road, which latter really aren't so bothersome as they might be. The road sign at Grand Ronde reports the distance from that point to Willamina as 10 miles, to Sheridan as 15 miles and to McMinn ville (from Grand Ronde) as 28 miles, but where roads are good motorists don't worry much about distances un less they are anxious to make a town for lunch or dinner. ' The gap from McMinnville to New--berg is usually reported to b 14 miles and the run from Newberg to Portland about 25 miles. It Is probably not necessary to re mark, by way of conclusion, that the loop trip covered In this article em braces some of the most wonderful scenery of the great Oregon country. The, eye of the tourist that enjoys gi gantto timber, alluring streams and brooks, the luxuriance of the pretty woods in districts not far removed from the ocean shore, and that delights at the sight of picturesque hills and vall.ir. riAtt. K.. i 1. . farms, such an eve will not crn hunc-w for many minutes on the entire loop of 300 miles. If you cannot accept this assurance as the truth put a car over the route this month or next and you will easily convince yourself that your doubts were without sufficient foundation. Hoodsport to Lake Cushman seven mile are also very good. And by the way,' Lake Cushman is not men tioned in the Blue Book except note to 'avoid right hand road at 90.2.' The worst part of the trip was the detour about five miles on the NIsqually Hill that, and the rough spots near Martin's Bluff and Woodland. "The road to Paradise Valley was not open above Glacier, but it may be open by nowt We also discovered Centralia's new city park and camp ing grounds on the river bank about one quarter of a mile from the main road, just north of the bridge." Tire Service Explained. To aid motorists In cutting down tire costs, the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company, Akron, Ohio, announces the publication of an entirely new and Franklin offers more of "what you actually need and want in an automobile." I! BRALY AUTO CO. Main 4880, A 3881. 19th and Washington St. .TRUCKS General I Motors Company Trucks 4, 1, l2, 2, 3'2 and 5-Ton The Standard of Portland Business House. Wentworth & Irwin, Inc., Second and Taylor H adaon Snprrslx. "Of all the earn beneath, the inn The Snperalx to the only one." Boss & Peake Automobile Co., S1S-S17 WnnMngtuTl St. BjT 1 O C Capacities, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 5, 6, 7 IfiaCK . LjlllirGr Tons- Complete Stock Repair Parts. F. C ATWELL, Sales Agent. MOTOR TRUCKS SVashington at 21st. TeL, Mar. 440 ' uwelL "I got the facta well, then took the Maxwell." Boss & Peake Automobile Co., 615-617 Wawhlng-ton St. IVl Jjfzfaellr SIXES New Light Six, $1195, Factory Mitchell, Seven-Passenger, $1460, Factory MITCHELL, LEWIS & STAVER CO. First and East Morrison Oldsmobil e Distinctive High Grade. Light Weight. OLDSMOBILE CO. OF OREGON. Broadway. and Couch. Phone Broadway 1640. ehllS&C. 90SO 81325 $1525 $1935 $3ST5 C?Ma-Thick Prices Delivered at Portland. ROBERTS MOTOR CAR CO, Park and Flanders Sta. 8k Smith-Form-a-Truck BALXiOU & WRIGHT Broadway at OsIA rHiitribacors for Orrson, Ronw unoccupied territory open. Write for proposition. Truck, mm White Moreland Distillate ton to 5 ton. Vim delivery, Yi ton capacity. M'CRAKEN MOTOR CO, Main 9019. 445 Stark St. T "Blltwell" Series Represents the I.ntrst sad Beat la Motor Cars. Kcw Blue at Medium Prices. T C WAPPfW TV! ftTAP PAP Pn B8-60 Worth Twenty-Third Street. Phone Slain 780. Pleasure Cars and Motor Trucks The White Co., Park and Couch Sts. Telephone Broadway 827. AUTO ACCESSORIES Miles Double-Seal Piston Rings Ask to See Them. Archer and Wiggins Distributors. Sixth and Oak Sts; BO WSER GASOLINE and OIL TANKS storage: systems for public and pri vate GARAGES. 8. T. Stoddard. Dintrlct Sunt. Bales. 71t-aO Corbctt HMg. Main 1476. SATISFACTORY MOTOR CAR REPAIRING COOK & GILL CO. Phone Broadway 26. 409 Davis Street. ELECTRIC SERVICE AUTO CO. 891 OAK ST. Phone Broadway 1784. General Starting, I.lehttntT and Iicnltlon Work Our Specialty. AlTHOKIZtiD SERVICE STATION. WESTDiUUOl'SIS AND tOXMiCTU'tl SYSTEMS. topa squeaks, removes and pre vent ruit. gives more tire mile age, car rides easier, less engine trouble. Fits all cars. 30 days' trial. Money Sack Guarantee. T. E. Trj-reUar, r'aftlilnn Gnraxe, 188 10th St. Opp. Public Library. ELECTRIC STARTERS, MAGNETOS GIBSON ELECTRIC GARAGE AND STORAGE BATTERY CO. 12th and Alder Sts. Grus Spring Oiler STORAGE BATTERIES cwiiifa: We Stock Them. We Repair Them, We Cbarfte Them, I'rrc Advice and Inapectlon. AUTO ELECTRIC EQUIPMENT CO. Sixth and Ilurnalde Streeta. complete aet of tire service bulletins. In which are set forth the various ways of obtaining more satisfactory tire service. Kissel Has Biggest Sign. What Is safd to be the largest auto mobile sign in the world has Just been oompleted and Is now being operated by the KisselKar distributors In Pitts burg. The sign Is 100 feet long and the letters forming the name KisselKar are 60 feet high, containing 2700 elec trlo bulbs. OLYMPIC ROAD LAUDED HIGHWAY IS RECO.MMEDED AS PLEASANT DRIVE. Dr. C V. Luther Return to Portland After Trip Paradise Valley Route May Be Open. "For the benefit of Portland motor ists I want to recommend the Olympic Highway as an interesting and pleas ant drive." said Dr. C' V. Luther last week, on his return to Portland. "I made a 700-mile trip last week, Port-land-TaccJma - Mount. Rainier - Seattle and thence by boat to Port Ludlow. There is a good road from Port Lud low of 7.1 miles, which connects with the main road about sFx miles south of Chlmacum and from there to Oly pia, 95 miles, the road Is very good dirt or gravel with not a bad place in it. ' "We were told the entire road to Lake Crescent, about 70 miles further north, was Just as good, but we short ened the trip to this extent. The Olympic Highway was built largely by the honor men from Walla Walla, and is one of the best unpaved roads I have seen, considering Its length. The grades are all new, and from Quilcene to Potlatch follows the shore line, af fording almost as good scenery as the Columbia River Highway, minus the Kalis. "The roads from Potlatch and If you are buying driv ing ease and riding com fort, see the '11 K r and find out why ten million dollars' worth have been sold in six months. Get into one today. Mitchel & Wallingf ord Orepron Distributors 522 ALDER ST., PORTLAND S1295 PORTLAND 4