Mickey D's and Bottle Trees - unique pieces of Route 66
My kind of place - The McDonald’s Museum
One Goofy USA stop deserves a spot on your itinerary: the McDonald's Museum. Located on the site of the very first McDonald’s restaurant, this free museum is a fun, fast, and nostalgic stop for travelers who love classic Americana, roadside attractions, and a dash of fast food history.
The McDonald’s Museum is located in San Bernardino, right along historic Route 66. It’s a super easy detour if you’re heading between Los Angeles and the desert cities like Palm Springs or Needles.
On the outside of the building is a mural that is self-proclaimed to be the most intricate mural in the world. I don’t doubt that. There are also a few things form McDonald’s playgrounds of yesteryear so some of us could reminisce - others could be reminded of the time we got stuck in Mayor McCheese and had to get adults to help get us out. Ahem.
RV travelers will appreciate the wide streets and easy access near the museum—perfect for a quick park-and-walk photo stop. In fact we were able to park all three of our rigs right on the street.
The first McDonald’s was opened in 1940 by brothers Richard McDonald and Maurice McDonald. Their speedy “Speedee Service System” revolutionized how food was prepared and served, setting the stage for modern fast food.
Later, businessman Ray Kroc partnered with the brothers and helped expand McDonald's into one of the world’s largest restaurant brands. In fact this was the topic of the movie The Founder and there is a whole display case of things relevant to that movie including screen-used props.
This museum is located on the same property that the original McDonald’s hamburger restaurant was located, but the McDonald brothers did have a barbecue place before this. However the land for the nearby McDonald’s was sold to the company after Kroc bought it but not this location; however, the original McDonald’s was ultimately torn down. There are remnants of it, however.
Today, the museum is privately run by a former franchisee and celebrates the early days of the company, Route 66 culture, and vintage fast-food memorabilia. There are cases and cases of Happy Meal toys including toys from various countries, packaging, uniforms and so much more.
There is no cost to wander the museum’s aisles but donations are accepted.
Elmer’s Bottle Tree Ranch
I can’t believe I missed this but day three actually included a visit to Elmer’s Bottle Tree Ranch. This incredible roadside attraction right on Route 66 is one of those places that are a must see only because they are so typical of what you find in the Mojave desert. What’s that?
An old guy, a piece of land and some sun-baked Tom Foolery.
Elmer’s Bottle Tree Ranch was started in 2000 by Elmer Long. The Mojave Desert is an incredible place to find all sorts of things that people have discarded over the last couple of centuries from old cars to cans, tools, and bottles. Lots and lots of bottles.
While some of the bottles came from his dad’s collection he added to it and, scouting the area, it’s not difficult to pick up all sorts of things that would look great hung on trees. We actually got to meet Elmer and his son, Elliot in 2006 and the sea of trees was more like a small lake.
Now there are over 200 bottle trees with each one having different types of bottles and glass plus each tree has something as a capper like the star on the top of a Christmas tree. Some have old jacks, wheels, forges and all manner of other desert stuff as a capper.
The property itself is two acres and seems relatively full of bottle trees nowadays. Elmer’s Bottle Tree Ranch is open from sun up to sun down any day you happen to mosey on by and whoever’s there at the moment is going to be friendly and enjoy the fact that you stopped by. There’s no charge to tour the facility but there is a donation bucket and these kinds of incredible roadside attractions are wonderful places that, I hope, you support along with us.
They’re also truly Goofy USA!
Where to camp in San Bernardino
Ultimately we ended up at Calico Ghost Town Campground & RV Park for several nights. The sites we got were large but not quite level. There was power at the sites and water spigots nearby. The campground has a dump station although there are also full hook-up sites available.
Staying at the Calico Ghost Town Campground includes admission to Calico Ghost Town. We had friends come join our little caravan of travelers so it was even more special for that reason.
