the Christmas tradition that has popped up in recent years on Loop 360 is fantastically tacky.
As one of the main routes through the western hills, the beautiful Loop 360 is lined with Ashe junipers. Though hated for their winter pollen explosion causing Austin's "cedar fever" epidemic, they do a very passable imitation of a Christmas tree.
Over the last few years, more and more families, groups, causes, churches, and individuals have spontaneously decorated the junipers along the busy highway. As we get closer to Christmas, it will be hard to find a tree untouched.
Even at their best these guerrilla Christmas trees are a kitschy mess. But they're a joyful mess.
That joyful mess is not always cleaned up properly, which has earned this tradition a fair number of critics.
To decorate between the cliff and the highway, you've got to avoid traffic and falling limestone.
It's a touching way to memorialize a lost loved one.
