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.
But some say the replacement won’t hold the same symbolic weight as the two lone trees. “[The new trees] will only be on one side of the highway and most travelers are probably going to miss it since it’s just going to be a bunch of trees,” said Michael Ballard, president of the Historic Highway 99 Association of California
I drive this route regularly (like 2 times a month) and I’ve literally never noticed the two trees. A cool rest stop visible one with an actual plaque to learn a bit about the location would be way more useful instead of a median tree that we’re supposed to understand while passing at 80mph.
Ballard’s non-profit association already had a tentative design for signs to be placed on the northbound and southbound sides of the highway before it was announced that the Palm and the Pine would be removed. The mockups feature a pictograph of a palm and a pine and read “Halfway between Oregon and Mexico” and “Halfway between Mexico and Oregon”.
Ballard believes an official marker is important, since there’s nothing else along the state’s other major routes that commemorates the transition from north to south. “They’re just trees alongside the road for most people,” said Ballard. “With the signage there, more people would be aware of it, and more people would understand the significance.”
I drive this route regularly (like 2 times a month) and I’ve literally never noticed the two trees. A cool rest stop visible one with an actual plaque to learn a bit about the location would be way more useful instead of a median tree that we’re supposed to understand while passing at 80mph.