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  • Yosemite_Valley_Tunnel_View_Panorama.jpg
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  • The_Breadth_and_Depth_of_Yosemite_Valley.jpg
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  • South_of_the_Valley.jpg
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Yosemite Valley Tunnel View Panorama

When I arrived at Yosemite, all excited, I -- had to turn around and leave the park to get gas, because the only gas station in the area of the park I was visiting was shut down for repairs. :) When I returned, my first destination was Glacier Point, reached at the end of a remarkable highway that winds its way through the southwestern part of the park. To get to Glacier Point from Yosemite Valley, you pass through a famous tunnel, at the end of which is an even more famous view of the Yosemite Valley: the aptly-named Tunnel View.

As I pulled into the parking lot along the road to take in this view, I knew I was in for something special, but that did not prepare for the sheer grandeur, the incredible beauty and awesome scale that is the Yosemite Valley. I literally stood there for several minutes, transfixed at the view; it quite honestly doesn't seem like it can be real. The photograph won't give you this feeling; you have to visit for yourself.

On the left, the massif of El Capitan rises above the valley; on the right you can see wisps of Bridal Veil Falls at low volume; and in the background, center, the distinctive Half Dome.
Yosemite Valley Tunnel View Panorama