California man turned discarded bottles and scrap into Route 66 desert art forest
Elmer's Bottle Tree Ranch, a unique desert art installation in California, continues to attract visitors as it celebrates the 100th anniversary of Route 66. The site, created by the late Elmer Long using discarded glass and metal, is now maintained by his family.
Why it matters
It highlights the intersection of folk art, environmental recycling, and the preservation of historic roadside Americana.
A collection of discarded glass bottles, old metal parts and other unwanted objects became a popular roadside attraction in California after a cement worker named Elmer Long began turning them into unusual sculptures. Known as Elmer's Bottle Tree Ranch, the site sits along Route 66 in the Mojave Desert and has attracted visitors from around the world.The two-acre property has around 200 bottle trees made using more than 1,000 glass bottles, along with pieces of scrap metal and other old objects. Long's personal creative project gradually became a place where travellers could stop and explore an outdoor display made largely from discarded materials.Long died on June 22, 2019, but his family has continued to maintain the ranch and welcome visitors.
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