BOB'S BOTTLE HUNTING SEASON / FINDS

[SODAPOPBOB]

~ BOB'S BOTTLE HUNTING SEASON ~

( THANKSGIVING THRU EASTER )

I'm just setting this up in advance with anticipation of a successful hunting season. I typically wait until around Thanksgiving when the temperatures in the mountainous east county area of San Diego drop to the point where it forces the rattlesnakes into hibernation. I'm just waiting for reports of the first good freeze, and then I'm on my way. In fact, I already have my daypack and tools ready.

I used to go out in the summer months. But after coming face-to-face with two rattlesnakes on the same day a few years ago I decided the heck with that. And they usually stay in hibernation until about mid-April ... and/or around Easter ... depending on how fast it starts to warm up again.

As the season progresses I hope to get out at least two or three times a month, and will post anything and everything I find, including some outdoor photos of the areas I hunt. I hope to make this an interesting thread, and hopefully won't get skunked on my hunts. I typically hunt along the shoulders of old highways, and have no problem crawling for a hundred yards through the underbrush in search of those oh-so-elusive soda bottles. It still amazes me how many were tossed from cars over the years. Didn't the folks back then know there were pay-back deposits on them-there bottles? I think they did, but I also think they liked throwing them at trees and other targets better. I find some of my best bottles near old oak trees where passing cars used the trees as targets, but missed. And the foot deep leaf-mold under the trees seems to have protected them just fine over the years.

The photos that follow are of an old lithia water bottling plant that I know off, and almost always produces some interesting bottles. There used to be an old gas station and cafe there also. But all that remains of that now are the original concrete slabs. It's also a good place to metal detect for old coins out in front of where the bussiness used to be.

This thread will likely get buried for awhile, but I will bring it up from time to time whenever I get back from one of my hunts. Wish me luck. I have been waiting since last Easter for this opportunity.

SODAPOPBOB

Here's what the old Buckman lithia water place used to look like.

 

[SODAPOPBOB]

And here's what the same property looks like today.

 

[SODAPOPBOB]

And here's one of how the actual bottling plant building looks today. The interior photo above was taken in this same building ... only this one is about a hundred years later.

 

[SODAPOPBOB]

Lastly (for now) is this example of one of the bottles I found along the creek behind the bottling works building. It is typical of what they were producing in the late 1920s and early 30s. Of course it would have had a paper label that has long since deterioated away.

Thanks for stopping by. I will be back with more soon ... I hope! []

SPBOB

 

[ncbred]

Looks like a sweet place to go metal detecting.

 

[SODAPOPBOB]

ncbred ~

Speaking of metal detecting ... especially for old coins ... I learned a long time ago that it can take forever to fully detect a large area. I use a middle-of-the-line detector and to properly detect an area even as small as 200 square feet can require an hour or more. That's one reason I don't do as much of it as I would like to - I get bored after about an hour. That is unless I'm finding stuff left and right, which is rare. But when this does occur I go at it like a mad man and have been known to tear up the ground like a bulldozer. (Of course I always cover my tracks by filling in my dig holes).

BULLDOZERBOB []

Here's what the Buckman Springs labels used to look like.

 

[Anthonicia]

The place really looks to have potential for finding a lot of different things. Adding to the bottles and coins you also have a possibility to find native american tools, etc. I am waiting for the vegetation to die off so I can go hunt some areas myself. I tried getting in some places this summer and just found a lot of poison ivy, oak, and sumac. I am use to the northern winters, so hopefully this year the mild southern winter will be a piece of cake?

 

[SODAPOPBOB]

Anthonicia ~

Speaking of Native American artifacts, it hasn't been legal in California to even touch that stuff since about 1965-70. When I was in the Boy Scouts in the early 60s, that's about all we did, and we always found a ton of stuff too. As far as I know it's even illegal now on private property. The fine is something like $2000.00+ with possible imprisonment. Which is a huge bummer because I grew up in the back country and know the location of every Indian encampment there is. I still have some of my arrowheads and the clay pot (Olla) shown below that I found in 1964 when I was twelve years old.

Thanks for stopping by. And good hunting to you too. I know all about poision plants, and hate them almost as much as I do rattlesnakes. [:'(]

SPBOB

Olla (Oy-ya) Circa 1880. About the size of a canteloupe. Indian version of a soda bottle. []

 

[SODAPOPBOB]

~ HUNT NUMBER ONE ~

My bottle hunting season got off to a pretty good start this week. But instead of going out into the back country and crawling around under the brush, my brother and I took a quick trip to Las Vegas, Nevada. We saw and did a lot of cool stuff along the way, including going to the Hoover Dam and seeing the new bypass bridge that crosses the Black Canyon Gorge just below the dam. There is a ton of info about it on the internet. You should check it out.

We also went to Kingman, Arizona where I purchased a six-pack of Mr. D'z famous home-made root beer. It's a creamy style root beer made with carmel, and my absolute all time favorite. If the Faygo I gave a thumbs up to last summer was a 10, then the Mr. D'z is a 20. It's that good!

After Kingman we worked our way back home along old Route 66 through the old mining town of Oatman, Arizona. Oatman is famous for it's wild burros that wander around town mooching hand-outs the tourist give them in the form of raw carrots. Craziest thing you ever saw.

It was in Oatman where I picked up a few old soda bottles. The photo below is of the old Glory Hole building which used to house several doctor and dentist offices, but today is an antique shop and museum.

This same building was shown in the 1961 movie "How The West Was Won." It is only a brief seen, and appears towards the end of the movie when Debbie Reynolds has grown older and settles down.

Harold's 'Customized' Beverages. Parker, Phoenix & Los Angeles. 1942 Owens-Illinois. I have never heard of this brand, and was unable to find out anything about it. But I do know that Parker is a small town on the Colorado river about 60 miles south of Oatman. I am not exactly sure what they mean by "Customized" on the label. Notice the Saguaro cactus on the label.

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