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The diary says we returned "via Loveland and North St. Vraine" so I infer the canyon ended somewhere west of Loveland and we simply continued on into Loveland and came back another way but I fail to find St. Vraine on the map so don't know the route but there is a clue. The diary says that "on a mountain road on the way back, the car coughed and spit and quit!" I can just imagine the consternation this created, particularly out there in the wilds--and believe me, they were wilds at that time, with almost no towns or even houses over wide areas, usually in the forest on a narrow gravel road with practically no traffic. After much harrowing investigation, I found some waste plugging the valve in the bottom of the vacuum tank and thus shutting off the gas supply to the engine. For this was before the day of the fuel pump and gasoline was sucked by engine vacuum (as I remember the system) from the fuel tank to the vacuum tank from whence it proceeded by gravity to the carbureter. So we got her going again and returned without further incident to Estes Park. Meanwhile we'd decided to remain at Estes Park and take short trips out of there, hiking as much as possible. We also heard that day that Babbie was fine again. I failed to mention one geological note on the day's trip. We saw near Loveland, which is close to the Wyoming border, some "typical red rock formations." I think this refers to the picture marked "old sea bottom" which I believe was red sandstone and while I have nothing on the geology of this particular spot, I think it would be similar to that of say, Mt. Rundle at Banff but on a smaller scale. Of Mt. Rundle, I wrote last year after our Canadian trip: "Folded mountain created 60-70 million years ago by enormous lateral pressure in the earth's crust; sea bottom 300 million years ago, the strata evident in the mountain top; mountain elevated at the rate of one foot per century or two million years to raise a 20,000 foot peak." And that is about all there is to report about our first day at Estes Park and environs. To complete the record, I'll mention the expense items of the day for whatever they're worth:

[[two columns, one the item of expense and the other the cost]]

Obviously it was a difficult place to spend very much money which, under the circumstances of the still cascading stock market, was a good thing. But we were having a great time and enjoying every minute of it. Since it was still prohibition times, there was no drinking in our lives as far as this trip was concerned and I'm sure it neither bothered us nor did we ever give the matter a thought. But I was smoking and I suspect that my cigarette money was concealed in the "Misc." items.

Transcription Notes:
Table of expense items near bottom of page needs proper formatting.