There’s another museum here. Although this one might even be better, I’m too antsy to risk it. This turns out to be a decision that I regret. I did buy a book at the museum, though: “Route 66” by Tim Steil. I plan to use this guidebook along the way to help me find interesting spots. At this point, I’m still not that interested in a fully guided tour, but it seems that there’s a lot I could miss if I don’t know what to look for. Still, I have no good idea of what I’m doing. If I keep on at this rate, I suspect I’ll make it back to LA in a couple of days, but what’s the purpose? What’s the goal? Do I really just want to drive down the highway and stop at a cheap hotel each night without much of a plan?
Sometimes after I get to know a place, I try to think back to the first time I visited. This is mostly something I notice after I’ve been back a few times. I remember walking down a street in Seattle and realizing that although I knew I was headed North, I’d walked down the same street years before, and not really known where I was, or which direction I was headed… same with London, Minneapolis, and even parts of Los Angeles. It’s a curious sensation, and each time I find myself trying to think back and capture the earlier, first, experience. I think it’s a deep desire to both go back and view someplace with fresh eyes, yet to have enough context to know what to look for. On this trip I’m experiencing a new place each day. But, I suspect I’ll be back and get to know the place better. Each morning I print out the next segment of the turn by turn directions on
http://HistoricRoute66.com. The book adds some context for me so that the whole ‘plan’ is designed to provide some context for my fresh eyes. So when I return, I’ll be better prepared to recapture the experience.
Who says you can’t go home again… we’ll see.
I just dig this picture. The Mustang looks like it's just sitting back there, waiting, snorting, pawing the ground. Mostly in shadow... with the business end peeking out with one watchful eye. Don't know what the chair means, I'll leave that to someone else to sort out.
I’d seen a picture of the closed and possibly abandoned West Winds Motel. Since the picture was interesting, with an old truck sitting in the weeds out front, I pulled off the 40 for a quick look. The town of Erick itself is a lot more picturesque than I’d imagined. Signs alert the traveler to the Roger Miller museum, and provide directions there. If I’d known then that the museum celebrated the birthplace of the dude who wrote the classic “King of the Road”, I’d have stopped there. I have to admit that by this time I’m still in a kind of funky fog about the trip, and my plans.
The first thing I notice as I cruise down the road in Erick, is an old truck on the corner lot. To the right, past the truck is a yard full of cool old stuff. There’s a yellow plane and other artfully arranged junk in the yard of a house.
There’s another museum here. Although this one might even be better, I’m too antsy to risk it. This turns out to be a decision that I regret. I did buy a book at the museum, though: “Route 66” by Tim Steil. I plan to use this guidebook along the way to help me find interesting spots. At this point, I’m still not that interested in a fully guided tour, but it seems that there’s a lot I could miss if I don’t know what to look for. Still, I have no good idea of what I’m doing. If I keep on at this rate, I suspect I’ll make it back to LA in a couple of days, but what’s the purpose? What’s the goal? Do I really just want to drive down the highway and stop at a cheap hotel each night without much of a plan? 
Posts
