Brayton, Iowa -
Tree in the Middle of the Road

So glad we came across this! So cool to see and it's really huge and we got there right at sunset! Very good directions. [Katie Bradley, 06/05/2010]

A word of caution to visitors: Between Littlefield Dr. and Quail Ave, 350th St. (Akron Rd.) is a minimum maintenance road ("Level B Service, Enter at your own risk") with deep ruts. Unless you have a truck I would recommend taking Littlefield Dr. past 350th and turning left onto 340th St. instead, then following 340th to Nighthawk Ave, where you take another left and head back down to the intersection with 350th St.

As far as the lack of signs, that appears not to be true anymore, but the signs are pretty much useless to visitors from the interstate. I saw two, at the intersections of Littlefield & 340th and 340th & Nighthawk, but they're placed in such a way that only drivers going *toward* the interstate can see them. I guess if you overshoot any of the turns, at least, you can see a sign when you turn around. [Daniel Bruhn, 06/14/2008]

Caught this one late at night on a cross country trip and the main road was out. Spent 4 hours looking for it, but it was somehow worth it. [j gavin heck, 03/19/2008]

A 100-foot tall cottonwood tree grows in the middle of an intersection in Audubon County, Iowa. In 1850 a surveyor cut a cottonwood sprout to use as a walking stick, later planting it in the ground to mark a section corner. It grew into the massive tree that still stands there today. There are no markers, no signs directing you to it, but just when you think you aren't going to find it, a massive tree top begins to emerge at the top of the hill, directly in front of you. The leafy shade and grassy patch surrounding the trunk simply invite you to have a picnic in the middle of the intersection. [Michele Mahoney, 05/20/2004]