In 1902 an experiment was made with the view of solving the dusty road problem. Several wide-tired sprinklers were tried out. The following year the number was increased, and more than thirty filling tanks were installed along the way. Most of them were filled by gravity and rams. In this way over a hundred miles of highway was moistened daily. Still, there were times when the dust was too thick for any effective treatment that man could devise.[248] Of course, nature had an adequate remedy, which it occasionally employed. Superintendent Albright related an instance:
Once I had a large congressional party in Yellowstone. It was in charge of the late James W. Good. Yellowstone's roads were terribly dusty and the water sprinkling was of little value. We wanted Congress to adopt an oiling program but every night while the Committee was in the Park it rained and the roads were perfect. Nevertheless every day I told of the dust menace and urged the improvement, but the congressmen only laughed and some member would say "Albright's going to tell his old dusty road story again."[249]
Continuing the narrative, Superintendent Albright told this story:
"Another year, I met a sub-committee of the House Appropriations Committee at the Grand Canyon National Park. Congressman, now United States Senator, Carl Hayden, was with the party when they reached the park. Here again we had a problem of terrible roads. The committee had not had much sleep the night before arrival due to changing trains, and when I took them over the worst road in the park they went to sleep on me. I bounced them into every rut and hole I could find, but even then I had to shake them to wake them up. For a long time they contended that the road was a boulevard, but finally authorized the improvement desired. On the same trip, Congressman Cramton of Michigan, for years the stalwart champion of national parks, saw a camper stop his car near the Grand Canyon Park office. He went over to him seeking information about the conduct of the park. The tourist gave him a vigorous denunciation of the roads in the park, and Mr. Cramton always claimed that I planted the camper there to trap him."
The suggestion frequently came to the Superintendent that he should sprinkle the roads with water from Alum Creek. That would shorten the distance and simplify the task!