I had only previously visited Yosemite National Park for one day, driving around to the more popular rock formations. It was long ago and the main memory I have is of seeing El Capitan. Fully sighted at the time I remember my binoculars revealing two climbers in a tent on the face of the rock, just a little camping trip for two. Gulp.
When my husband and I visited Yosemite this past May, it really was like seeing it for the first time. Of course, I didn’t really see much until I looked at the pictures on my iPad, but I still “saw” many things that I had either forgotten or not experienced before.
One surprise this spring was all the tunnels within Yosemite. It makes sense that in an area with massive, ancient rock formations, the creators of this National Park had to find a way for automobiles to traverse it. Tunnels would be necessary. Although I certainly have been through many a tunnel in my day, I still marveled every time we passed through the manmade feat of engineering that is the Wawona Tunnel. I was awestruck. How did they do this??? The tunnel’s raw interior was fascinating.
The longest highway tunnel in the state of California, the 4,233 foot Wawona Tunnel was built, in fact, by boring a hole through a mountain of granite. It was completed in April of 1933 after nearly two years of work.
The Tunnel View scenic overlook, located adjacent to Wawona Road, provides expansive views of Yosemite Valley, El Capitan, Bridalveil Fall and Half Dome. (Click here to read “Sunrise In Yosemite.” Wawona Tunnel and Tunnel View were determined eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986 because of their exemplary design.
Early one morning, the lights located inside the Wawona Tunnel glowed in the darkness right before the dawn, the only illumination we had seen since we had left our hotel several miles away at 5 am.
Driving through the Wawona Tunnel Mister Rain noticed a spot inside that was an opening (it’s all relative, folks), presumably there for the workers who have to perform maintenance and take care of any problems that may arise. Thank goodness this tunnel is ABOVE water and not under!
Equally as impressive were tunnels not formed by humans but nature. On the trail to Bridal Veil Falls we found this little nook. You can’t pass through it but the child in both of us decided that it would be a great place as a kid to hang out in if it were in your back yard.
Another tunnel was one-way, allowing just a single car to enter at a time. As with the “nook” tunnel the rocks came together to show us how it’s done.
Sometimes a place can surprise you no matter how much you think you recall nor how much research is done beforehand. One of the worst things you can do when you travel is to have tunnel vision about a destination . . . unless your destination is Yosemite National Park.
For other Yosemite National Park stories, click on the titles below.
What Do Bears Eat?
Sunrise In Yosemite
Yosemite View Lodge
Galen Clark’s Sequoias
El Capitan
Yosemite Valley Chapel
In The Spring Yosemite Falls
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