Oct. 20, 2008
Zion Tunnel
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It's hard to describe all that we are seeing here. On Saturday we took a drive through the Zion tunnel. They began building it in 1927. It's 25 miles of road and 2 tunnels connecting Zion, Bryce Canyon and the Grand Canyon. The drive up includes 3.6 miles of switchbacks stacked on top of themselves in less than a quarter of a square mile. Think of coming down a steep ski slope. Instead of coming straight down you switch back and forth along the trail. These switchbacks require a lot of maintenance to keep them from slipping off the mountains. Comforting thought as we drove along close to these precipice edges! In the mile long tunnel are 5 Galleries - holes blasted through the rock for light and ventilation. There are some spectacular views through these openings but no room to stop. They bring you so close to the canyons walls. The tunnel was dedicated on July 4, 1930 after three years of work. Only two lives were lost during the construction and blasting. Pretty amazing considering the seeming impossibility of the task. I'm glad to say I've been there, but like most of my travels (maybe this even more so) the best part of it all is being here to tell about it. |
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