Page:Wawona Road (HAER No. CA-148) written historical and descriptive data.pdf/12

 :Continuing a few miles further we came to the top of the grade leading down into the valley. We recalled it as a steep, strenuous road, winding about sharp curves and often along the edge of sheer precipices which gave us many thrills from our high perch beside the drive of our four-in-hand. We had traversed mountain roads so much worse in the meanwhile that Wawona grade really seemed quite tame from a motor car and the ladies took only languid interest in its twists and turns.
 * We paused for a third time at Inspiration Point and we cannot help envying those who are so fortunate as to come into Yosemite by this road and thus get their first glimpse of the valley from Inspiration Point. Perhaps the view from Glacier Point is as glorious but one is not likely to come upon it so suddenly and is somehow expecting stupendous things, but Inspiration Point burst on the wayfarer from the Wawona all unaware and he sees unfold before him almost in an instant all the marvelous sights that have made Yosemite a world's wonder....
 * We proceeded slowly and cautiously down the steep switchbacks leading to the floor of the Valley, a long, low-gear grind, for regulations forbid disengaging gears on roads in the park. The decent (sic) did not seem nearly so precarious as when we first made it in the regulation coach-and-four--the road appeared to have been widened at the turns; maybe this was only our imagination, due to greater familiarity with mountain roads. We were enough at ease to enjoy the splendid vistas of the valley and mountains which were presented from a hundred viewpoints as we slowly descended, something that we hardly did the first time. Nor did the, time seem so long, though I really doubt if we went down so quickly as our dashing driver piloted his coach-and-four over this three-mile grade on our first trip. We soon found ourselves on the floor of the valley with Bridal Veil Falls (sic) waving like a gossamer thread above us...60

B. HISTORY OF THE NEW WAWONA ROAD

In 1917, the National Park Service acquired the Wawona Road from the Washburn interests. The transfer also included the branch road to Glacier Point. Over the next decade, the road required constant maintenance, including removal of rockslides, spreading gravel, and grading. Some fairly limited improvements were also made. In 1924, Park Service crews graded and widened 14 miles between Alder Creek Hill and the Mariposa Big Tree Grove. Gravel was spread over exposed clay on a section around Wawona. 61

In May 1925, Park Service crews built a new turnout below Inspiration Point, and the Mariposa Big Tree Grove road was partially realigned in September. In the meantime, the u.s. Forest Service was surveying a new route between the Big Tree Grove and Mariposa. A bridge on the road over Alder Creek was replaced by two 48" culverts in October, and in November two sections of retaining wall between Grouse Creek and Inspiration Point were replaced.62

The National Park Service and the Bureau of Public Roads (U.S. Department of Agriculture) signed a Memorandum of Agreement in July 1925, authorizing the planning and construction of new roads within Yosemite National Park. The BPR undertook a comprehensive study of the existing park transportation system and made recommendations for major upgrades and improvements to most of the park's roads. One of the main decisions made was to reconstruct the Wawona Road.