Pinnacles' new heights: Promotion to national park status would draw more tourist dollars

Perhaps it's a matter of not seeing the mountains for the spires, or the rock canyons for the caves.

Rep. Sam Farr (D-Carmel) uses a more familiar phrase to describe his federal bill that would designate Pinnacles, now a national monument, as a national park.

"So often we can't see the forest for the trees," Farr says. "We live in a beautiful area, and we just accept the way things are and we don't question them."