the people with eyes
Little towns are really proud when they can associate with someone famous. (Check out Wink, Texas, and Roy Orbison, for one example.)
Erick, Oklahoma, really hit the (musical) jackpot, with two residents who became famous enough to be on a mural right there along Route 66. No side-street art for THESE guys. No, sir.
Anyway, it’s Roger “King of the Road” Miller and Sheb “The Purple People Eater” Wooley. And I do not mind admitting that I am sort of obsessed with this mural, and don’t even mind that there are security lights sticking out of Mr. Miller’s forehead.
Route 66
Erick, Oklahoma
photographed 7.27.2026
disengagement
The thing that Groom, Texas, is most famous for is the giant cross out on the Interstate. Its official name is The Cross of Our Lord Jesus Christ, but it’s generally referred to as The Cross. It’s 19 stories high, making it visible from a long way off. It is one of those places that has limited photographic offerings, so I tried to find a way to show it with the town in front – this shot with The Cross looming over the high school was the only one I found.
Route 66
Groom, Texas
photographed 7.27.2026
an unpopular front grille design
I was pretty happy to find a stash of Edsels in McLean, Texas. They were, of course, unpopular and low-selling – and only in production for 807 days.
According the internet “The Edsel is famously described by automotive historians as the ultimate corporate and marketing failure. Its distinctive vertical grille inspired sharp contemporary mockery, with critics famously comparing its front end to a “toilet seat” or “an Oldsmobile sucking a lemon”.”
However, they are a lot of fun to photograph, with their weird lines, the details (little Es in the brake lights, for example), the colors (pink! turquoise!), and the history which shows up in every view.
Route 66
McLean, Texas
photographed 7.27.2026
philosophic dogma
I sure would like to tell you what this marker (which I found behind the Seaba Station Motorcycle Museum – which appeared to be out of business – and across the street from the Successful Word Church – motto “Welcome to a Word of Faith Church”) is all about. I would like to tell you why there’s hunk of a Toyota, who left the crutches behind, and what the “We Can See You!” sign means.
Unfortunately, I cannot do any of those things, so it will be forever a mystery. (Unless one of you know?)
Route 66
Warwick, Oklahoma
photographed 7.26.2026
One Day | One Image 