AUTO TOUR 



81 



Meadows, the winding road bed spanned 

 a distance of some 2 5 miles. It is now 

 fairly well covered with undergrowth, 

 but most of it can be traveled on foot. 



W VIEW OF SOUTH FORK CAN- 

 8 YON. The canyon below is that of 

 the South Fork of the Merced River 

 which joins the Main Merced River 

 about 12 miles down stream. This high- 

 way crosses the South Fork at Wawona. 

 Signal Peak is the point to the right at 

 which the level ridge of the mountain 

 across the canyon drops off. 



W WAWONA CAMPGROUND. 



q Originally known as Camp A. E. 

 Wood, after the first superintendent 

 of Yosemite National Park, this camp- 

 ground has been extended downstream 

 some distance and is now one of the most 

 modern campgrounds in the park. It is 

 distinguished by individual campsites 



screened from one another by natural 



forest growth. (Read details in W-ll, 



page 82.) 



W THE WAWONA ROAD. Up 

 . ^ stream is the only covered bridge 

 '"in the entire National Park System 

 and is now preserved as an historical 

 structure. Across it ran the original 

 Wawona Road into Yosemite Valley. 

 Interest in building this first road 

 into the valley from the south be- 

 came active in Mariposa in 1874. The 

 road crossed the Chowchilla Mountain 

 to the west and followed the road which 

 is seen emerging from the forest on the 

 far side of the golf course. The original 

 Wawona Road came in from the south 

 as far as Alder Creek. In the early 

 1870's a desire to have a road into Yo- 

 semite Valley was expressed by the 

 Guardian of the Yosemite Grant. A 

 contract was given to a company of 

 Chinese to complete a road from Alder 



Covered bridge over South Fork of Merced River at Wawona 



