Awhile back, my friend Shelly wrote about bottle trees and how she wanted one of her very own. She wrote all about the history and the lore, so I’m gonna skip that part and direct you to her great info instead. Anyway, I had to giggle when I read her article (well, truthfully I almost always giggle when I read that crazy redhead- that gal can tell a hella funny story!), but in this case I giggled because she linked to a place right here in my neck of the woods in her article, and if there’s anything that can bring a wicked smile to this witch’s face, it’s the thought of sparking a teensy bit of envy in a friend. Hahaha.
My grandparents bought our 40 acres of scrub and scorpions in the High Desert in 1965 or so. I guess I was about 4 years old when we first made the trip up the Cajon Pass along old Route 66 that was, (Old Route 66 still runs along beside the newer Highway 15 that leads over the Cajon pass) to spend cowboy style weekends in the 1800′s native stone cabin here (My Mama lives in it now, while my partner and I live in the “big house” next door).
I could tell you about roasting marshmallows in the fireplace and my first amazing glimpse of the Milky Way, about jack rabbits and cactus beetles, about jumping cholla and the old concrete practice bombs that littered the landscape then, but those are tales for another time.
- Mormon Rocks
Today I want to tell you of a long time tradition of southern and desert folk alike, and of not one, but two places in my neck of the woods that you can go to see bottle trees! (Eat your heart out, Red!! Muahaha) The first is a museum exhibit, but the second one you can see live and even visit with the overall wearing, bearded creator of Elmer’s Bottle Tree Ranch.
The drive up from our LA County home took about two hours. My little brother usually slept on the red leather upholstery of Grama’s ’57 Merc (as she called it) but I loved to watch the road and the scenery as the city gave way first to the hills and then to the tumultuous looking mountains where the Cajon pass runs along the famed San Andreas Earthquake Fault and finally to the wide, flat expanses of the desert.
One of the very best parts of the trip for me was looking forward to seeing Hula Ville, just off the Highway in Hesperia. Hula Ville was a magickal forest of bottle cactii and trees, old metal signs like the 12 foot tall beauty that the roadside attraction was named after, and a somehow magickal arrangement of detritus that spoke to the wonder in my child’s heart and to the artist I was to become.
Sadly, Hula Ville is no more, but you can see bits of it that were rescued by the California Route 66 Museum in Victorville, and just a few miles down old Route 66 in Oro Grande you can still visit Elmer, The Bottle Tree Man and enjoy wandering through his sparkling arrangement of bottle trees and whirly gigs and a simply wonderful arrangement of odd bits and pieces of what most folks would term “junk”- at least until they saw this!
Elmer’s Bottle Tree ranch is a good, old fashioned “roadside attraction“, and Elmer, if he happens to be around when you drop by, will show you some desert charm with his friendly, down to earth loquaciousness, and will happily take you on a tour and tell you all about his dad and how his bottle tree ranch was birthed. Elmer welcomes visitors even if he’s not home and despite someone stealing his dog some years ago, he’s still a trusting soul, so do feel free to wander and take some photos when you’re there.
I swiped these photos from his photostream at flicker, I hope he won’t mind too much. You can see them full size along with several more there, and Barstow Steve has a great photostream of the Ranch along with a map, too!
Even if you aren’t traveling out Route 66 anytime soon, do stop in at The Bottle Tree Man Blog, where you can read about this great bit of roadside history and and get a sampling of Elmer’s hospitality in a short video of Elmer’s Bottle Tree Ranch made for the Armed Forces Network.
Whether you see him in person, or stop by the blog, be sure to tell Elmer that Thorne sent you!! I hope you have fun out here in My Neck of the Woods!
And don’t forget to visit Shelly at This Eclectic Life and see what’s cool in her neck of the woods!)
Tags: bottle trees, California, Elmer's bottle tree ranch, high desert, hula ville, route 66, travel, upcycling
