Robert C.
Yelp
Drive through the longest tunnel in California, and exit with a breathtaking view of Yosemite Valley. This is the tunnel view, one of the iconic attractions of Yosemite.
We drive toward Glacier Point, and then drive back through the 4233 foot long Wawona tunnel, the longest highway tunnel in California, built in 1933.
Electronic highway signs alert us in the tunnel to pedestrians crossing the highway ahead of us.
High drama, as from a distance away we can see the daylight expanding like an approaching train, and then the spectacular panorama of the Valley is upon us!
Normally both parking lots on both sides of the highway are packed with parked vehicles and tour buses.
Today, on a weekday afternoon in February, the lot is only half full of cars, including at least two SUVs each parked over the parking lines, effectively taking up two parking spots, or making sure no one parks too close to them.
No tour trams in the center in their own oversized parking spots, unloading huge number of tour group riders today.
There are a couple of compact spots right by the entrance, and those cars that can't find a parking spot cross over the road to the hill side and the overflow parking lot.
El Capitan to the left, Half Dome in the far background in the center, Sentinel Dome to the center right, and Bridalveil falls to the far right, with snow capped mountains in the distance, over a vast array of green forests, against a cloudy sky.
The place has only a few people on the overlook edge, fenced in by low stone walls, acting as safety railings.
Everyone is taking pictures of the Valley, and of their family and friends in the foreground. Teenagers stand right on the overlook edge, while their friends and relatives take pictures for posterity.
10 minutes later, we are out of there, with memories of another trip to the tunnel view. John Muir could not have foreseen that this overlook, built in 1933, would become the iconic spot to take the picture of Yosemite National Park.
Sunset views can be dramatic, with the rays of the setting sun highlighting the tops of the Valley peaks with a golden glow, against a dark background.
Other dramatic viewpoints in Yosemite National Park include Glacier Point, the top of Sentinel Dome, and in the high country Olmstead's Point, all closed in this El Nino year until June.
This is also the route to going to Fresno, but I've never gone to Fresno this way, and in fact have no intention of ever going to Fresno.
Now if only those SUV drivers learned to park within the lines and didn't take up two parking spaces!