The Shoe Tree

after trudging back from our hike in the Narrows we got in the car, which was packed and ready and headed towards our next destination... Las Vegas. Shortly after leaving Zion and driving through a rather thinly populated area, we past something strange by the road. Ivan stopped and I went over to take a look.

Shoes were hanging from all the branches. Apparently this is a recurring phenomenon in the States. I really thought the thing looked kind of creepy and menacing. I mean, look at it!

A little further down on the other side of the road, was a couple in the garden in front of their house. The man was mowing the lawn and the woman was taking the dogs for some evening air. Ivan told me to go ask them about the tree and so I did.

The woman complained that she was terribly tired of that tree, because people behaved most irresponsibly on the road in order to see it!! And they constantly used their driveway to turn and go back to it. But, she said, she was sorry to come off all angry and asked me, where I was headed. Ivan came down and the husband joined us. We spend half an hour having a nice chat about our journey, and the cruise to Europe they were planning and how it was living in that area... They were nice people, just like most Americans we have met. Ivan suggested they set up a booth with brochures about the Shoe Tree and lemonade, in order to make a profit from the annoyance. They thought this sounded like a neat idea, but didn't look too keen. We said our goodbyes and continued on. It had gotten a little late, but we felt its always worth taking out some time to chat up the locals.