Taking the 4Runner Off-Road

On our way up to Pomeroy Lake, we came across this stretch of road, and thought better of taking the vehicles any farther, so we just stopped and had lunch.

Of course, this innocuous looking rock caused the first (and only) body damage to the vehicle when the tire slid off of the rock.

Apparently, a large boulder rolled through the back of this building. How it ended up at this angle is anyone"s guess!

Brad saw a potentially tricky spot, so he and I got out to scope out the rock. The clouds made for an eerie morning.

The Alpine Tunnel was the first tunnel crossing of the Continental Divide in North America.

Excavation of the Alpine Tunnel, which became the first tunnel ever constructed through the North American Continental Divide, began in January 1880 and was expected to be finished in only six months. However, due to unforeseen circumstances, the task required nearly two years to complete. Fractured granite necessitated the expense of using over 400,000 board feet of California redwood to support and encase 1,427 feet of the 1,772 foot long Tunnel Train service through the Alpine Tunnel began in June of 1882 and was terminated in November of 1910.

Next to spectacular cliffs, the road crosses a narrow man-made terrace known as the "Palisades". The ledge is supported by a wall of hand cut native stones, two feet thick by 33 feet high and 425 feet long. The entire wall was dry laid without the use of mortar. A tribute to its talented builders, the wall remains today in the same relative condition as when first constructed in 1881.