22 Jan creepy {22/365}

I spent a few hours today, rummaging around on the interwebz trying to figure out the meaning behind a 'shoe tree'.  No, not those cedar thingies you stick in your shoes (although I learned about those too along the way). This ...

shoe tree

Ummmm ... make that shoe treeS - plural.  And well on the way to becoming a forest from the looks of things.

Over the years, I've driven past this spot too many times to count.  And always wondered about it.  Why in the world are all of these shoes nailed to the trees?  What does it mean?  Does it mean anything at all?

I haven't got a clue.  And it's not for lack of trying, believe me.

My fourteen year old tells me a young girl died there, and I found this a little ways in ...