Blog Archives
information overload
The Jesus sign was the reason I stopped. The smell from the dumpster almost made me leave. I was brave, though, and held my breath for this photo and then (still holding it) I walked right through the miasma until I got to Jesus. The sign, I mean – the Jesus sign.
And over there, someone in the kitchen at the taqueria was cooking beans and they smelled so good – even now, three weeks later, I can still recall their fragrance and can still remember thinking how delicious a bowl of these beans would be with a fresh corn tortilla.
There’s a lesson here. It might be that after a stinky trash dumpster anything will smell good. Or it might be that it’s a reminder to keep going through the stinky parts because the part you have to hold your breath to get through will be worth it.
Route 66
El Reno, Oklahoma
photographed 7.26.2026
the BBQ was top level
Parts of Oklahoma have these things the locals call “hills” – a unusual term for people from the Plains, but apparently it means that the land “changes elevation” or is higher or lower than the land right beside it. Crazy concept, but I try to be a good visitor and not feel sorry for them or whatever.
Anyway, sometimes a “hill” will require a “retaining wall” (IDK why) and that might make your neighbor’s grill actually above your own head. Again, a crazy concept. But I saw it for myself so I know it happens.
Route 66
Tulsa, Oklahoma
photographed 7.25.2026
heal thyself
I have decided to interpret this shop window’s signage and decoration as self-help advice. I don’t mean to imply that I’ve healed myself, or anything like that. All I really mean, probably, is that I like the IDEA of it. And the words.
And that giraffe-neck on the dusty mannequin adds a certain flair to the whole thing.
Route 66
Tulsa, Oklahoma
photographed 7.25.2026
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
