Route 66

Hello Hodgepodge-ians!
[A little about my situation with updating. I have had a mishap with my laptop since it had a horrible pee pee encounter with my dogs. Sigh. It is okay it is in emergency care right now. I have been with out Photoshop for a while now. I have been going from computer to computer downloading the trials! Here I am back at it. I do not think I could ever part from Photoshop for any longer. We have been friends since fourth grade. Got to love those Neopet days..]

On to our little route 66 trip. My friends and I had a plan to go visit this bottle ranch. I really did not know what I was expecting except bottles hanging from trees. Boy was I wrong. This place is nestled on route 66. If you have ever been on this route you know it is a long long route filled with endless views of dirt and sand. You do occasionally get that view of some antique shops and cacti.

After the long winding roads and turns we finally got to the ranch. It was right off of the road so you  had to park in the dirt and walk over.There were so many bottles, so many knick knacks, and items you would find of interest. Things you would look over because you had no use for them all piled together in one place. He had so many items ranging from buffalo bones to old muskets. You could walk through the maze of bottles and find something intriguing. Of course we came on the perfect day. Elmer the owner, founder, and artist of the ranch was there. He was helping these two lads from Europe and talking about his vision. The two lads came from across the pond just to see route 66 as they were sporting their route 66 hats.

We had the chance to speak to Elmer. He is an older fellow with a spring in his step. He had just come out of an injury due to his hip and was walking all around the ranch without his wife's knowledge. A rebel this one. Elmer gave us a tour of his house which is on the ranch and his backyard. He had people coming from across the world to see his bottle ranch. Interviews from china, kids like us wanting to see something new, and just because of the internet. People have been dropping by for years. He had sure made a name for himself.

He spoke about how he started and how this land he had was so cheap when he first got it. He only pays for the water that goes through the land. Elmer was an inspiration as he talked about his life and how he got to  building and creating. My friends and I had talked to him for what seemed like hours. We even got to give him a polaroid. It really was an eye opening adventure. I really do love talking to people who have done what they done because it is what they love.