Sunday Gravel Grovel: The Claremont Shoe Tree

If you have ever driven along Highway 395 north of Reno you may have seen the world famous shoe tree of Hallelujah Junction. We may never know how, or why, the tree acquired its first pair of shoes but over the years the collection held aloft by its branches grew to sizable proportions. I heard rumors that one enterprising traveller even attempted to set up shop right there, beside the road - an open air shoe souk. 

Though not as well-known as its northern cousin, and far less burdened, Claremont, as I discovered this morning, has its own shoe tree. There we were riding the Cross Town Loop Extended Version when we rode down upon the spreading ground's little grove of trees. Asked "what kind of tree is that?" I responded eucalyptus, and a pine of some sort over there. "How about that little one?" I don't know, some small ornamental tree. 

By then my curiosity was peaked and we rolled over to the little one for a closer look.
Drawing up I noticed the first orange sneakers up high, then a blue pair, another of gray color, and then another orange. All told, a good six or seven pairs up in the branches, all appearing to be running shoes. Way out in the middle of this nowhere. Huh, and I began to wonder? Imagining some kind of late night cross-country runners' clandestine ceremony,  runners sacrificing their shoes to their fleet-of-foot gods. An appeasement perhaps, or a plea for protection or success. I will go with that for now, until I start to notice boots, or slippers, or stilettos, or loafers and causing me to search for some other explanation. 

i don't know what these low purple flowers are, but boy there are a lot of them

By the way, don't go out of your way to look for that Hallelujah Junction / Hwy 395 shoe tree - it was apparently cut down in 2017.