The Mystery of the Nevada Shoe Tree

Somewhere just outside of Reno in Nevada, in a place people call "The Middle of Nowhere", on a stretch that is known as "the loneliest road in America", there's a little (well really big actually) curiosity called the Nevada Shoe Tree. It's a huge cottonwood tree with thousands and thousands of pairs of shoes hanging from it's highest branches. The Nevada Shoe Tree is surprising poorly documented. I couldn't even find a Wikipedia entry on it! The best piece of information I could find is this article from the San Francisco Chronicle that states that none of the residents in the area really know who or why or how the shoe tree came to be. There are stories about a man that threw his girlfriend's shoes in the tree to stop her from running away on their way to elope in Reno. I think it's great that no one knows how it started because I love the idea that there are still little mysteries out there that no one can spoil for everyone else. I also love that there are places called "The Middle of Nowhere."