Metaphor: The Tree of Utah - near Wendover, UT
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Max and 99
N 40° 44.015 W 113° 33.083
12T E 284552 N 4512314
The Tree of Utah is on the lonely stretch of Highway 80 on the west side of Utah
Waymark Code: WM11AB1
Location: Utah, United States
Date Posted: 09/16/2019
Views: 4
This huge sculpture called The Tree of Utah, is located on the north side of Highway 80, in a desolate stretch of road between Salt Lake City and Wendover, at the Bonneville Salt Flats. The almost 90 feet tall sculpture can be easily seen from a distance, but if you miss it it's a very long drive back.
It is illegal to pull over on the highway unless you have an emergency. I therefore give a passenger in your vehicle permission to take a photo as you drive by. there's a fair chance you will get a ticket by the authorities if you pull over to visit the sculpture.
Text on plaque:
The Tree of Utah (Metaphor)
by Karl Momen
Completed January 1986
"A hum to our universe, whose glory and dimension is beyond all myth and imagination" - Karl Momen
Utah State DFCM Collection of Fine Art
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"Metaphor: The Tree of Utah, sometimes called the Tree of Life, is an 87-foot-tall (27 m) sculpture that was created by the Swedish artist Karl Momen in the 1980s and dedicated in 1986. It is located in the desolate Great Salt Lake Desert of Utah on the north side of Interstate 80, about 25 miles (40 km) east of Wendover and midway between the former railroad communities of Arinosa and Barro. The sculpture, which is constructed mainly of concrete, consists of a squarish 'trunk' holding up six spheres that are coated with natural rock and minerals native to Utah. There are also several hollow sphere segments on the ground around the base. The sculpture currently has a fence surrounding the base to protect people from falling tiles.
Inscribed on the plaque are the words from Ode to Joy by Friedrich Schiller; also used as the chorus of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony. It has been said that Momen was moved to create the 87-foot-tall (27 m) tree after having a vision of a tree while driving across the desolate Bonneville Salt Flats.
Following the dedication of this work of art, Momen donated the sculpture to the State of Utah and returned to Sweden. However, in 2011 he proposed creating a visitors center at the location with construction costs being paid for by donations."
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Visit Instructions:
To post a visit log to this waymark you need to visit and write about the actual physical location. Any pictures you take at the location would be great, as well.