it is pretty cool.....it used to only be decorated for Christmas, then it would done up for 4th of July, Easter, Veteran's Day, and so on. It's a pretty small tree, too, maybe, ehhhhhh, 15ft diameter and about 10ft high. right in the median of 2 lanes of 80MPH.

and yeah, there have been a number of fires right there (Inspiration Point rest area). My theory is idiot smokers pull over, smoke a butt, toss it out, walk away, 10 minutes later, acres and acres of dry vegetation are burning. not terribly far away from the tree.

every time we drive to Flag it seems right in that area ther was just a fire. blackened vegetation everywhere.

So a "higher power" took time out of his/her/its busy day to save a tree, but can't be bothered to help the homeless, unemployed, the hungry, people with cancer, etc, ad nauseum???? Makes sense.

Higher Power has a hit or miss aim.

And there are Leprechauns in the ghetto.

Aw, shoot. I can't find the GIS pic of the Colorado Dept. of Transportation evergreen tree just to the western side of US50 in Delta County. It's got quite a little history how it's been preserved by succeeding CDOT crews and moved occasionally. Over the past 30 years it's become a tradition for locals to decorate it for Christmas and Fourth of July. We love our little tree.

(for years there was a bronze plaque bolted to a large rock near the base of the evergreen lamenting the disappearance of the last giant aardvarks which was so WTF? ... but I think some asshole has stolen it. couldn't find it last time we stopped to drape bunting on the tree for the 4th)

KatjaMouse: And there are Leprechauns in the ghetto.

Wasn't that a song by Elvis?

I always look forward to driving past this tree on Christmas day when I'm driving from Prescott to Phoenix to visit my family. i hope we never know who is behind it. It's part of the fun.

Whose juniper tree was it?

Glenn Brown, fire chief in Mayer, says first responders were mistakenly credited with saving the tree's life. "It was a higher power than us," he says. "We did nothing."

Tom Foster, a retired ADOT engineer, admits knowing some of the people behind the annual tree trimming, but he says he isn't about to kill the magic by telling.
"It may be elves," Foster suggests.

Are these ambiguous and offhanded comments supposed to deteriorate my confidence in the intelligence of Arizona officials or something?

Always looked forward to seeing its appearance around the holidays driving back and forth to college. Kudos to whoever does it. It's nowhere near anyplace. Been a great sight for the last 25 years I've done the drive.

Higher power my butt.

that tree is awesome, always liked seeing it when driving back home to prescott for the holidays.
and i don't think the "higher power" line was a TRUE VOICE OF GOVERNMENT speaking, geez. just an offhand comment.

Minimally Hairy Beer-Powered Simian: So a "higher power" took time out of his/her/its busy day to save a tree, but can't be bothered to help the homeless, unemployed, the hungry, people with cancer, etc, ad nauseum???? Makes sense.

Jesus, sitting on his throne in cloud heaven: Hmm, who should I save? So many prayers? Child with TB in the Congo? Nah. Those thousands being buried alive by an earthquake? Yawn. Oh shiat, a tree in Arizona! Deploy the archangel squadron immediately!

That's the nicest story to come out of Arizona in a long time.

Allelopathy and shading protects juniper trees from wildfire by preventing combustible undergrowth. Wildfires will literally circle around well established juniper trees as there is nothing around the tree to burn and the fire goes out quickly. Of course, it could be a higher power that has nothing better to do than look out for a tree along the side of a highway...

In other news: the toilet saved my crap from falling on the floor while I defecated.