Palm Sunday

With Vanessa Mariposa. Man, they have a lot of palm trees in Bavaria, who knew?

At The Guardian, A beloved palm and pine tree mark California’s center. Now they’re being cut down

Whenever Cassie Yoshikawa drives through the Central Valley on the former US Highway 99, she looks for the century-old landmark that symbolizes the midpoint of California: the Palm and the Pine.

Located on the highway median and towering over neighboring oleander shrubs, the Canary Island palm and the Deodar cedar tree are said to represent the spot where the balmy bottom of California meets its woodsier counterpart. In a state where north-south divisions run deep, the trees have long been a bright spot that speaks to the spirit of each half.

“It’s a cool little claim to fame given how the pine represents northern California and the palm represents southern California,” said Yoshikawa, a Fresno-based travel blogger.

While their origin story remains a mystery, it’s largely agreed that the trees were planted near Madera, California, in the 1920s. Some claim they predate the construction of Highway 99, a historic route that once stretched from Calexico to the Canadian border, and is now called California State Route 99. Local chroniclers have said the trees were probably intended to represent the halfway point between Mexico and Oregon, but have since taken on special symbolism for California since they’re located near the exact center of the Golden state.

Given their beloved status, Yoshikawa and others were saddened by the recent news that Caltrans, the authority that oversees California’s highways, plans to remove the trees next year in order to widen the state route to six lanes.

“I’m bummed because it’s something I like to tell other people about. It was one of the first things I thought was cool about the area when I moved here from out of state,” Yoshikawa says.

Caltrans has promised the landmark won’t be gone for good; the department plans to create a new landmark along the side of the highway featuring 15 palms and 15 pines. An irrigation system would also be installed to prevent them from dying.

I must have passed it at least ten times and never saw it... Of course, neither the Canary Island Palm or the Deodar are native to California, or even the US. 

Linked at Pirate's Cove in the weekly Sorta Blogless Sunday Pinup and links.