Byways Around San Francisco Bay

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Around San Francisco Bay, by William E. Hutchinson

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Title: Byways Around San Francisco Bay
Author: William E. Hutchinson
Release Date: May 23, 2004 [EBook #12415]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
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[Illustration: ON THE ROAD TO STRAWBERRY CA?ON]
BYWAYS AROUND SAN FRANCISCO BAY
BY W. E. HUTCHINSON
1915
ILLUSTRATED BY THE AUTHOR
DEDICATED TO MY WIFE THE DEAREST YET SEVEREST OF CRITICS

CONTENTS
Sunset in the Golden Gate (Poem) Brook and Waterfall Mountain and Valley Ca?on and Hillside Wild-cat Ca?on Autumn Days (Poem) Around the Camp Fire Trout Fishing in the Berkeley Hills On the Beach Muir Woods San Francisco Bay (Poem) In Chinatown In a Glass-bottom Boat Fog on the Bay Meiggs' Wharf The Stake and Rider Fence (Poem) Moonlight Mount Tamalpais Bear Creek The Song of the Reel (Poem) The Old Road
ILLUSTRATIONS
On the Road to Strawberry Ca?on The Laughter of the Brook Brook and Waterfall The Turn of the Trail Mountain and Valley Sunshine and Shadow Ca?on and Hillside The Bottom of the Ca?on Wild-cat Ca?on 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.
To enjoy the out-of-doors at its best one needs a congenial companion; one who does not tire on the trail nor find fault with the little annoying things that are bound to occur on a long journey, but who, in the silent contemplation of God's handiwork, best expresses his appreciation of its wonderful beauty in silence; for there are times when silent enjoyment of a landscape produces a subtle interchange of thought that speaks louder than words.
Such a one is Hal, more like a brother than a son, and in winding over tortuous trails and climbing the rugged sides of mountains we have become good comrades; bound together by the invisible tie of "Nature Lovers" and the "Call of the Wild," as well