CAVE ROCK, LAKE TAHOE.
Instead of returning direct to San Francisco, by way of the route we had taken to the Yosemite, we went northward, over a very good road, through Tuolumne and into Calaveras county, near the eastern edge of which is the very celebrated grove of giant trees. The grove is confined within a valley some 3,000 feet long by 800 feet wide, and embraces ninety-three mammoth trees, some of which are prostrate. The tallest now standing is 325 feet high, and measures fifteen feet in diameter. There are others which, though less lofty, exceed the tallest in girth measurement by as much as twenty feet in circumference, while the thickness of the bark on these grizzly giants is as much as eighteen inches. Five miles southeast of the Calaveras forest is the Stanislaus Grove, of about 800 trees, which in any other country than California would be considered as veritable monsters for size; but they do not equal the better specimens in either the Calaveras or Mariposa Groves, though several have a height of 250 feet, and a trunk circumference of thirty feet.
Having inspected and photographed the groves, we proceeded to Murphy’s Hotel, sixteen miles from the Calaveras Grove, thence twenty-five miles by stage to Valley Springs, a station on a narrow-gauge railroad that runs to Lodi, where connection is made for San Francisco.
It was not possible, without occupying years of time, to make trips over all the picturesque rail-routes of America, and the transportation of our material in a photograph car, which was in almost constant use, made it necessary that our three photographers travel together, except when it was desirable to cover in quick time short detours from main lines. For this reason the overland trip from Denver was made by way of the southern route, without dividing our party; but to provide against what would otherwise have been a serious omission, the photographer of the Southern Pacific Railroad was brought into service to supply views of scenery along that road between Ogden and San Francisco, over which the writer has traveled so frequently as to be thoroughly familiar with all the points of interest. It was this route, formerly known as the Central Pacific, joining the Union Pacific at Ogden, that constituted the first all-rail overland road from Omaha to San Francisco, and it continues to hold rank as the most picturesque, though the scenery alternates with many dreary patches.
THE SENTINEL IN YOSEMITE PARK.—Every one who visits Yosemite is amazed at the grandeur and magnitude of the scenery. In the language of the author of this work, “Everywhere, up and down that magic valley, whether viewed from the gorges that have their bottoms in dark and mystic abysses, or from amazing heights of walls thrust far into the skies, there is wonder piled upon wonder.” Each advancing step brings a new revelation, until the vision is lost in a maze of marvelous views. One of the most striking features of this photograph is the outline of the falls in Merced River, as seen to the right of the grizzly Sentinel.
CASCADE BRIDGE AND SNOW-SHEDS ON THE SIERRAS.