About 20 miles east of Wendover, shooting up from the ground is a concrete tree dubbed "The Tree of Utah."
According to utah.com, it was made in 1986 by a Swedish sculptor named Karl Momen. He had a vision of a tree while traveling in the Bonneville Salt Flats, and decided to erect a tree in the middle of nowhere.
There is a plaque on the ball-tree, containing the words from Ode to Joy, made famous by Beethoven's 9th.
To me, none of this makes sense. Colorful testes, hanging from the air in the middle of the desert. Ode to Joy. Barren Utah Desert.
Maybe, if traveling long enough in this flat, white expanse, your mind starts to play tricks on you? And this Swede decided to up the game and put an actual mirage in the middle of the desert? I could see the conversation now...
"After 150 miles of nothing, let's fuck with these peoples' minds. I'm going to make a concrete pillar, and hang some multi-colored balls from it. Make it look like a tree... but not... And then, to top it off, if people stop they'll find a plaque with Ode to Joy on it. Why? WHY NOT? Let's make it as random as possible!"
And random it is.
