Shoe Fence... What were They Thinking?

We left Catalina RV Resort in Desert Hot Springs, California about 8am. It was a perfect sunny travel day. We always hope for uneventful traveling days--which this day was.

Most of our travel today was on State Highways--not Interstate. For the most part the roads were in great condition. They were single lane roads, however, there were regular pull off areas and shoulders along most of the route.

In California, vehicles towing anything have a 55mph speed limit which is 10mph slower than standard vehicles. Not sure what the thought process is with the different speed limit; but we don't push speed limits. We have also realized that our best gas mileage comes at about 60mph.

As a side note... I found out later that Highway 62 in California is one of the most dangerous highways. Because it is so straight and out in the middle of nowhere; people drive on it like it is America's answer to the Autobahn.

We had been driving down Highway 62 for about 30 minutes and I see a bunch of shoes hanging from an old Gas Station canopy. Before I can get the words out of my mouth to point out the dangling Shoe Art to George, I spot the Shoe Fence.






As I Shoe Lover, I can appreciate anything creative that involves shoes. But this is ODD. Can I mention Again... we are out in the middle of NO WHERE and people

stopped to hang shoes. On closer observation, we see tires, socks, dolls and other various artifacts and collections. I love things that make me say... "What were they thinking?" I love Quirky sights that make people smile or just stop for a minute to take a peak.

When we were settled for the day I went online to get the scoop on the Shoe Fence. I found out Highway 62 is also known as Rice Road. There was a Rice Shoe Tree that was just south of the highway--but the tree burned down in 2003 (the fire was suspicious, there is not a clear cause of the fire). After the tree burned down, a 'shoe garden' replaced the tree; people began hanging shoes on the fence instead. After researching no one seems to know why travelers began hanging their shoes on a tree and now a fence. Whatever the reason... it's a hoot to see.

As soon as we pass the Shoe Fence we start to notice rocks "messages" laid out beside the railroad. So we ask... "What would make someone... drive to the middle of No Where and create rock graffiti?"  Travelers stop and arrange rocks to spell their names; we saw marriage proposals and Love Messages, Memorials to people that have died and the ever-popular "rock signature". These hand-assembled graffiti messages go on for miles and miles.

The rest of the trip went on without anything noteworthy. We pulled into Ridgeview RV Resort in Bullhead City, Arizona about 12pm. The most delightful young woman greeted us and gave us a nice site with a view and it is close to the pool--which is nice on these hot days.

One air conditioner struggled to get the RV cooled down.  Inside was 88 degrees and outside was registering at 106 degrees! Can I remind you... it is only April. So we turned on the second air conditioner. We went for a refreshing swim in the pool and came back to a perfectly cooled RV.