Photo: messynessychic.com
(first posted 6/30/2017) What is it about large (OK, giant) trees that compels us to tunnel through their bases with our roads? It’s not a new invention, certainly predating the automobile, and who knows, maybe even photography. Suffice it to say that there is plenty of documentary evidence that this passion is both long-lasting and widespread. Exhibit number one (above) is an oddly fetching example of our possibly even Freudian weakness for penetrating between the legs of a living object with something wide, low, and especially, long, filled with vigorous passengers. Like maybe a stretched ’57 Chevy?
Photo: Underwood & Underwood (really)
One particularly vigorous specimen penetrated this very same orifice (the since-fallen Wawona Tree in Yosemite National Park) way back in 1903, before hydrocarbons began to foul the famous nearby valley. Though, in fairness, famed naturalist John Muir had already begun to complain about tourists’ trash and their animals’ trampling of meadows and streambanks. Said Muir, “It would be a fine thing to keep this garden untrodden. Now the pines will be carved with the initials of Smith and Jones, and the gardens strewn with tin cans and bottles, but the winter gales will blow most of this rubbish away, and avalanches may strip off the ladders [from South Dome-ed.].” (San Francisco Daily Evening Bulletin , November 18, 1875.)
Photo: Gary Cullen
Not content with the ceremonial birthing of vigorous domestic offspring, the Tour Thru Tree in Klamath, California, offers up this three-eyed Tatra monster that bears a single, presumably lonely, ride-along who appears vividly satisfied with his accomplishment.
Photo: postcardroundup.com
In 1941, a 1937 Nash LaFayette 400 burst forth from the roadside-sign-famous Chandelier Tree, possibly making a mad dash south to report for Naval duty in San Francisco, the nearest city of any size for at least a couple of hundred miles. (Note that 12,000 board feet of pure, virgin, heartwood lumber were removed to clear its way.)
Photo: redwoods.info
Here, proving again the persistence and ardor of our suit, a girth-busting VW Transporter muscles its way through the Chandelier Tree sometime after 1973. No telling how many little hitchhikers could be in there. Buster seems a bit worse for the experience, though, sporting a somewhat disheveled driver-side mirror.
Photo: Darius Kinsey
Even stumps are not to be outdone. This formerly noble cedar proves commodiously welcoming to any Franklins that might come her way.
Photo: Ellis51
Our friendly arborvitae still welcomed weary travelers twenty or so years later, even though they seemed to bear neither cash, nor customer.
Photo: pacific-hwy.net
Jealousy begins to prevail in her later years, however, with younger, fresher cedars thrusting up nearby, no doubt hungry to play hostess to exciting vehicular metaphors of their own. What metaphor might be suggested by a 1958 Chevy, I don’t know. But maybe it was just the last straw, because…
Photo: Brian Williams/Flickr
…she was eventually shunned by the highway, if not by the other trees. The venerable stump now comprises the main attraction at the Smokey Point Rest Area located on I5 in Snohomish County, Washington.
Photo: William Bird/Flickr
As if to prove that our metaphor can be stretched to its utmost, we present the (covers eyes) train that pulls through the paired legs of the Twin Drive-Thru Tree [now Twin Towers-ed.] at Confusion Hill, a classic roadside attraction in Piercy, California. I doubt that these conjoined Grand Dames are in the least bit comforted by the engineer’s cheery wave as he comes around again and again, like on so many days before.
Photo: Confusion Hill
To eliminate any confusion over the trees at Confusion Hill, at last we present the Smoke Stack Tree, named with stunning compassion for the relationship between trees and fire.
For those CCer’s living East of the Sierra Nevada, who only know trees as upright, briefly green logs that impinge hazardously upon mile after mile of their roadways; know that out here, when a tree is too close, too big, or just too smug and attractive, we shove our vehicles right on through without a whit of care or a fare-thee-well.
Only the US Government has shown any restraint, closing all such passages within its parks to vehicular traffic. All remaining drive-thru trees are now privately owned tourist attractions.
Great presentation. Thanks. Tom
As your penultimate paragraph points out, maybe this is the Midwesterner in me thinking, but I figure it’d just be easier to go around the tree.
I am just old enough to remember the roadside attractions families (like mine) used to appreciate into the 1970s. When one by one, they left the highways and byways of North America. Today we would consider many of these attractions corny and certainly not worthy of a family outing. Back then they were special destinations. Especially for a young child. And luckily I was able to experience a few of them with my parents.
Jim Grey would appreciate this, but I also have fond memories of some of those treacherous (and dangerous) narrow and steep highways it took to get to these destinations. Remembering my dad having to crane his neck to see over the hood of his ’69 Ranch wagon as he descended steep hills you couldn’t see to the bottom of. Not helped by the long hood.
Besides Paul’s site, one of my favourite automotive related sites is http://www.thekingshighway.ca/photographs.html where the author has documented the history of the Province of Ontario’s many highways. Including hundreds of vintage and historical photos.
Lots of interesting photos to see. Like this grand opening pic from 1970 of the desolate Highway 144 between Sudbury and Timmins. Given the less than high profile nature of the highway, a Buick Electra seems more appropriate for the ceremony than a Cadillac.
This article also reminds me of the elaborate ‘gateway’ signs tourist towns used to have to greet you upon your arrival. Growing up near the Thousand Islands Region of Ontario/New York, I especially have fond memories of the entrance to Alexandria Bay, New York. And the illuminated sign they had for many years.
This was the entrance to Gananoque, Ontario during Canada’s Centennial year in 1967.
Thanks for the link about Ontario highways. As an older Ontario resident there are lots of photos that are very interesting to me.
It is a fantastic website, Cameron Bevers (the website owner), should be very proud of.
One of the best highway history sites in the world. And my best sources for researching highways here in Ontario. Expect many more historical pics to be uploaded, as the site matures.
I remember one of these drive thru redwoods from a trip to California my family took when I was about 6. I tried to get Mom to drive our nearly new 64 Cutlas through the tree but she insisted that the passage wasn’t wide enough for “modern cars”. But I was convinced it would fit then and still am.
While I’m sure it did no favors for the health of the trees, being able to drive *through* a tree has a certain novelty to it. Kind of like a real-life version of how Park Avenue passes right through the Helmsley Building in NYC.
My first reaction was “Isn’t this a re-run of an old article?”. It’s not; there’s apparently enough to see and say about cars driving through trees that we’ve had two different articles on the topic, with two (mostly) different sets of pictures:
https://www.curbsideclassic.com/blog/the-drive-through-tree-a-car-spotters-delight/
Here’s one of me…going through the Chandelier Tree near Leggett, CA in February of 2105. Had always wanted to do that…never had the chance until that trip.
I’ve never driven enough in Cali to be near any of these, but supposed I’d detour a bit to make it happen.
Here’s a photo that we can pretend is our own Jason Shafer:
Not as cool as a living, standing tree, but still a cool memory for the kiddies in back:
Here’s one of my girlfriend as we went through one a couple years ago. I can’t find the picture where the NSU Sport Prinz doors are open. This was driving a 2-cylinder SP from Roseburg to Sacramento. I took the 4-cylinder SP in a trailer on a separate trip.
Why does the 57 Chevy have two different front license plates?
@Magnolia: Maybe commercial licenses needed for both Nevada and Cali tourism? (Years ago, trucks used to have separate license plates for several states, IIRC.)
‘Tatra in a Tree’ has a nice ring to it!
Happy Motoring, Mark
This stretched 57 Chevy wagon is fantastic!
My great-grandfather (dark suit, foreground) at the Wawona Tree in Yosemite, circa 1927. The tunnel was cut in 1875; the tree survived until the late 1960s, when it finally came down due to heavy snow. I have dim memories of driving though, in my parents’ ’58 Chevy Brookwood wagon, in the mid-late 50s.
Wonderful photo! Glad you have it in your family.
Okay, here’s another photo of Chandelier Tree, taken in the late 50s or early 60s. The car is a 1955 Chrysler.
Visited the fantastic Sequoia Nat’l Park in California a few years ago. Many of the sequoias are over 200 ft. tall and 1,000 years old. The visitor tour trams are all pulled by early 1980’s vintage International trucks, which have been in continuous service for 35 years. Chatted with one of the drivers who said they have been remarkably reliable, only showing a few dings from the occasional 2 lb. pine cone that drops on them from 200 ft. above.
great pix ! .
i know this is bad for the trees but i’d go……..
-nate (shameless)
I visited a redwood forest in Washington state during a work trip and there was a huge tree like this that I walked through; it looked wide enough to fit a car through but I don’t think we were supposed to do that.
Excellent re-post. I missed this the first time around, but appreciate the connection between the lede picture of the stretched 57 Chevy and today’s post by Eric703 on Armbruster-Stageway conversions.
In the early-mid 1970s, my family went on our first family trip to the Bay area of CA, and I recall visiting (and driving through) some redwood. I can’t recall which one. What I can recall is being somewhat traumatized by the whole experience because a) I was convinced that it was going to be during the exact moment that WE drove through the tree that it would finally succumb to biology and gravity and collapse on OUR car (50 some years later, I continue to worry about being the victim of extraordinarily statistically unlikely events…which is the corollary to why I refuse to play the lottery. If I actually felt that I could win the lottery, I’d probably never get on an airplane or stand near a window in an electrical storm again.); and b) I felt really really really bad for a tree that had been around since before Jesus having to have its innards hollowed out to allow some 20th century tourists to do something that could have easily been circumvented.
I still pretty much believe/feel both of those things.
Man is such a strange being.
“Now the pines will be carved with the initials of Smith and Jones”
Not to mention the ancient Colosseum walls being carved with someone’s initials. But I didn’t know it was old as it that made a difference.
Even as a young child in grade school and not yet able to comprehend something that’s been living for hundreds or thousands of years did I think driving through a tree made one damn bit of sense. All for a postcard pic! Future generations will harshly criticize our lack of self restraint.
Whaddaya mean future…….? .
Forests are one of the best & cheapest renewable resources yet they continue to clearcut……
-Nate
Vancouver had one of these as well…history and pictures at
https://miss604.com/2013/02/vancouver-icons-hollow-tree.html
It’s ‘sort of’ still there, having finally died as a result of a freak windstorm in 2006, and it’s now held together by steel rods and cables – one of those things the city can’t bring itself to finally remove. It’s estimated to be close to 1000 years old.