The Bottle Tree Ranch on Historic Old Route 66

Our Day Trip to the Bottle Tree Ranch

The Bottle Tree Ranch in Oro Grande, CA

I heard about this amazing Bottle Tree Ranch on Historic Old Route 66 in Oro Grande, CA quite sometime ago and have wanted to go see it.

Monday, John and I were out and about doing errands and at the spur of the moment decided to see if we could find it.  We looked it up on the internet on our trusty cell phone and discovered it was down the highway from Linda Marie's Enchanted Treasures, another place I wanted to visit!

Off we went and it was even more amazing than I imagined.  I have never seen so many bottles in one place. He has over 500 bottles and is still collecting.

Not only does Elmer Long have zillions of bottles but he also has zillions of antiques and all sorts of things he has re-purposed.

Elmer Long at Bottle Tree

We were so fortunate that Elmer Long was home because he came out and visited with us for a very long time and told us all sorts of interesting history of the things he has collected and made.  What an amazing artist he is.

He invited us into his home and gave us a tour of some creations he has in there.  He showed us his kitchen sink that sits on an old gurney.  He says he only runs hot water to it because he gets enough cold water while he's waiting for the hot water to come through!

He showed us a beautiful lamp that is made out of apiece of drift wood he pulled out of the ground one day while on a hike.

He even has all these amazing things made out of buffalo jaw bones that he picked up on one of his trips out of state, one of which is hanging above this Ludlow sign with a bunch of old keys hanging from it.

Elmer Long in His Younger Years

Among some photos that he has below this large LUDLOW sign are a couple of photos when Elmer was younger and when he first started The Bottle Tree Ranch in 2002.

He says he's getting old now but that doesn't stop him from creating something new just about every day.  He showed us all sorts of things he is in the middle of creating.

He always puts interesting things on top of all of his bottle tree creations like old typewriters, old adding machines, old sewing machines and old milk cans.  One bottle tree is even topped with his old Lionel train set.

He pumps water into a large water storage container and lets it drip constantly to make sure the local birds and rabbits etc. get plenty of water to drink in his Mohave Desert location in Oro Grande, CA.

A Few of Elmer Long's Bottle Tree Creations

Elmer Long's Bottle Tree Creations

Bottle Tree Creations by Elmer Long

A number of movies have been filmed at this Bottle Tree Ranch and Elmer told us that he gets visitors from all over the world.  People find out about the Bottle Tree Ranch on the internet and make special trips to the US just to come see it!  Historic Old Route 66 has a lot of amazing attractions including The Bottle Tree Ranch in the Mohave Desert.  We had a great time and highly recommend going to see it.  If Elmer is there he will come out and spend time with you.  He is a treasure  himself.