NOW and THEN.

As a party of ten cars, containing visitors to the ruins, stopped at Balcony House several weeks ago the following conversation took place in the last car:

"John I am not going down to this ruin, you take the children and I'll rest here in the car."

"All right, but you'd rest better in the back seat."

"You sure stopped this car on a hill. What'll I do if it starts to roll backwards?"

"Oh, jump out and put a rock under the wheel."

With these final words the father departed for the ruins to return in one and one-half hour to find his car reared up on the hind end, one-third over the embankment, his wife speechless in the back seat.

This tourist violated one of the fundamental laws of mountain driving. Never leave your car standing on any kind of a mountain road without first shifting into either low or reverse gear. Do not depend entirely upon your emergency brake; it may or may not hold.

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Representing seventeen foreign countries as well as every state in the Union, a total of 16,656 visitors registered at Mesa Verde National Park during the past travel season.

Analysis of travel statistics reveals considerable heavier registration each season from the more distant points of the United States and from foreign countries as the park becomes better known. This season's total represents a 14.2% gain over the 1929 travel season.

Colorado leads in number of visitors, with California second, New Mexico third, Texas fourth, Kansas fifth and Illinois sixth.

Foreign countries and remote points of the world represented by the visitors include Alaska, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Cuba, Egypt, England, Germany, Hawaii, Hungary, Mexico, Panama, Peru, South Africa, and Switzerland.

-oOo-