An RVer stops to check out the Old Shoe Tree on U.S. 50, east of Reno

Recently, we decided to take a little road trip out U.S. 50, the so-called “Loneliest Road in America.”

After we passed through the farming town of Fallon (an hour east of Reno), we entered the area that’s been described as the Nevada Outback. Our drive took us through white-bleached alkali flats, past the giant 600-foot-high mound known as Sand Mountain (a popular off-roading spot), and miles of wide, open spaces.

About 15 miles east of Sand Mountain, near a place called Middlegate, we spotted a most unusual sight—a giant cottonwood tree beside the highway that was filled with hanging shoes. Hundreds of pairs of shoes, along with a few umbrellas, a couple of brassieres, and other items, have been tossed into the branches of the 70-foot tree.

Naturally, we pulled over to look at this Shoe Tree, snapped a couple of photos, and wondering why it had become burdened by so much footwear. I mean, what’s the story here?

Once we returned, I began researching the story of the Old Shoe Tree, as it’s called. While there seem to be several versions of the story, most agree that it all began about a decade ago when a newly married couple was driving along U.S. 50 and began to argue.

The couple apparently stopped under the tree. The new bride threatened to walk home so the husband took her shoes, tied the laces in a knot and threw them up into the tree. The husband drove to a nearby bar in Middlegate, where the bartender told him to go back to his bride and apologize.

The couple made up and drove away. A year later they stopped by to show off their first child, whose first pair of shoes are said to hang in the tree.

Over time, others saw the shoes in the cottonwood and began tossing their own footwear into its branches. These days, there are dozens of leather and canvas sneakers, oxfords, pumps, cowboy boots, wingtips, slippers, sandals, and other foot items hanging from the Old Shoe Tree.

In fact, you might say it’s a tree with plenty of sole—-Richard Moreno

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