Wyoming - Sherman Mountains
One of my favourite quirky sights along the road was the Sherman Mountains. I was rolling along the highway, looking neither left nor right when a little exit road with a sign that said “scenic view” led off into the median between the two carriageways. I’d never seen a scenic view of a median strip before, so I decided to check it out. The result was delightful.
Let’s start with the rocks and leave the tree for now. Like Uluru, these lumps of rock are all that remains of an ancient mountain range that slowly eroded away to nearly nothing. An interpretive sign informed me that the bedrock is mostly granite, a crystalline rock made up of pink feldspar, glassy quartz, black mica and hornblende, which originated deep in the earth’s crust over a billion years ago. I just thought the blocky piles, many capped by balanced rocks, were really cool to look at.
Tree Rock is even more cool to look at and has quite an interesting history. It is a small, somewhat stunted and twisted limber pine. Its age is unknown, although limber pines can live as long as 2,000 years. The boulder it is growing out of is Precambrian era pink Sherman granite, formed more than a billion years ago, possibly as much as 4 billion years ago.
A sign next to the tree explained that this tree “has fascinated travellers since the first train rolled past on the Pacific railroad. It is said that the builders of the original railroad diverted the tracks slightly to pass by the tree as they laid rails across Sherman Mountain in 1867 – 69. It is also said that trains stopped here while locomotive firemen ‘gave the tree a drink’ from their water buckets. The railroad moved several miles to the south in 1901 and the abandoned grade became a wagon road.”
I have to confess that, before I read this, I had already tipped the dregs of my water bottle into the cracked boulder. Perhaps a desire to water this tree is the human link that connects us all. Maybe peace treaties will one day be sealed here, with former enemies united by water bottles and an unusual tree.
“In 1913 the Lincoln Highway Association was formed ‘To procure the establishment of a continuous improved highway from the Atlantic to the Pacific.’ The Lincoln Highway was an instant success in a nation enamoured with the newfangled automobiles and eager for a place to drive them. The Lincoln passed right by Tree Rock as did U.S. 30 in the 1920s and Interstate 80 in the 1960s. At this place the road was approaching the 2,693 m (8,835 foot) Sherman Summit, the highest point on the Lincoln. The view of the surrounding mountains was like nothing that west-bound easterners had ever seen. Still, they noticed the little tree, which became the favoured subject of many early postcards and photographs. It still is.”
So here is my tiny contribution to the long history of Tree Rock, a photograph on the web and one more tiny sip of water.
Let’s start with the rocks and leave the tree for now. Like Uluru, these lumps of rock are all that remains of an ancient mountain range that slowly eroded away to nearly nothing. An interpretive sign informed me that the bedrock is mostly granite, a crystalline rock made up of pink feldspar, glassy quartz, black mica and hornblende, which originated deep in the earth’s crust over a billion years ago. I just thought the blocky piles, many capped by balanced rocks, were really cool to look at.
Tree Rock is even more cool to look at and has quite an interesting history. It is a small, somewhat stunted and twisted limber pine. Its age is unknown, although limber pines can live as long as 2,000 years. The boulder it is growing out of is Precambrian era pink Sherman granite, formed more than a billion years ago, possibly as much as 4 billion years ago.
A sign next to the tree explained that this tree “has fascinated travellers since the first train rolled past on the Pacific railroad. It is said that the builders of the original railroad diverted the tracks slightly to pass by the tree as they laid rails across Sherman Mountain in 1867 – 69. It is also said that trains stopped here while locomotive firemen ‘gave the tree a drink’ from their water buckets. The railroad moved several miles to the south in 1901 and the abandoned grade became a wagon road.”
I have to confess that, before I read this, I had already tipped the dregs of my water bottle into the cracked boulder. Perhaps a desire to water this tree is the human link that connects us all. Maybe peace treaties will one day be sealed here, with former enemies united by water bottles and an unusual tree.
“In 1913 the Lincoln Highway Association was formed ‘To procure the establishment of a continuous improved highway from the Atlantic to the Pacific.’ The Lincoln Highway was an instant success in a nation enamoured with the newfangled automobiles and eager for a place to drive them. The Lincoln passed right by Tree Rock as did U.S. 30 in the 1920s and Interstate 80 in the 1960s. At this place the road was approaching the 2,693 m (8,835 foot) Sherman Summit, the highest point on the Lincoln. The view of the surrounding mountains was like nothing that west-bound easterners had ever seen. Still, they noticed the little tree, which became the favoured subject of many early postcards and photographs. It still is.”
So here is my tiny contribution to the long history of Tree Rock, a photograph on the web and one more tiny sip of water.
1 comment:
Very cool. I'm certainly glad that you stopped, and I'll water the tree if I ever pass by.
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