Yosemite and Beyond - The Most Scenic Drives in America: 120 Spectacular Road Trips - page 169

Twice the height of the Empire State Building, Yosemite Falls is a spectacular ribbon of white water.
14. Ribbon Fall
Just to the west of El Capitan, Ribbon Fall plummets some 1,612 feet to the valley floor.
Thepark'shighest single waterfall (that is,thelongest uninterrupted stream ofwater), Rib-
bon Fall is also the first to dry up in the summer. The reason: it drains only four square
miles of land. Nevada Fall, in contrast, drains 118 square miles and flows year-round.
15. Valley View
AsistersitetotheWawonaTunnelViewtothesouth,ValleyView(sometimescalledGates
of the Valley) encompasses stunning panoramas of Yosemite's great stone monuments, the
Merced River, and Bridalveil Fall. Unless one stops at the turnout, it is also a good-bye
view over the shoulder, because the drive now continues west out of Yosemite Valley.
After passing through a tunnel, the route heads north on Big Oak Flat Road, winding
through valleys and crossing creeks, until it approaches the Crane Flat area, where visitors
are able to hike in to explore two groves of awe-inspiring giant trees.
16. Tuolumne Grove
Although not as large as the Mariposa Grove, Yosemite's other two groves of giant sequoi-
as—the Tuolumne and nearby Merced—invoke in onlookers the same sense of reverence
for the ancient trees, remnants of a lineage dating to the dinosaurs.
Curiously enough, park rangers and lightning storms set fires in the groves that are al-
lowed to burn—not to destroy the sequoias but to protect them. Fires burn off competing
species and bare the soil, permitting the trees' seeds to germinate. In 1878 a vehicle tunnel
was cut into the stump of one of the larger trees in the Tuolumne Grove. Dubbed the Dead
Giant, the stump—tunnel and all—endures to this day, but is no longer drivable.
17. Tioga Road
Threading through an unpeopled expanse of wilderness Tioga Road traverses some 45
miles and climbs almost 4,000 feet between the meadows of Crane Flat and lofty Tioga
Pass to the east. As the road ascends, the dense forest of mixed evergreens gives way to
stands dominated by handsome, 100-foot California red firs. At various spots along the
way, such as the camping areas at White Wolf, Yosemite Creek, and Porcupine Flat, back-
packers begin their treks through pristine forest, discovering hidden lakes, rocky chasms,