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Roger Miller Museum

By
Judy
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About 7 miles after crossing into Oklahoma I pulled off the road to seek shelter for the sun at a gas station in Erick. Hiding behind a big stand of trees was a billboard for the Roger Miller Museum. 


The museum was in the old Hood Drug Store. Back in the day it was run by Ed Hood who was uncle to Darla Hood from the Little Rascals. 

The drug store had a soda fountain and was a popular teen hangout for the Erick High Schoolers. (They were the Bearcats)

Lots of vintage photos and stories about Miller who apparently was a handful while growing up. 

Miller moved in with his aunt Armia and said it was “so dull you could watch the colors run.”

He also mentioned “the town was so small the town drunks had to take turns.”

In school Miller was one of 36 students. “Me and 36 Indians,” he said. “We had a high school dance and it rained 36 days straight.”



Miller and Johnny Cash. 

I thought the Miller Museum was fabulous until I drifted down the street and met Harley. 

Oklahoma, You’re OK!

By
Judy
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Crossed into Oklahoma on Saturday afternoon. This monument marker was about 25 feet off the highway. I nosed my front bike wheel through the dry grass and high-stepped it to the sign. I’m not sure how much longer my luck will hold out that I don’t eventually run into a rattlesnake. 

Take a Ride on the Far Side

By
Judy
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Rare to have shade trees along the Historic Route 66. Found this just east of Shamrock. I pedal in the cover of the trees even if it’s fleeting. Sun is intense with sparse cloud cover. Temps will near 100 but I finally have the wind at my back and that helps. 

After taking the pictures I looked up an saw two cows staring at me. It was like a scenario from the Far Side. 



Famed Water Tower in Shamrock, Texas

By
Judy
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In Shamrock, Texas the water Tower is a noted landmark. 

In 1915 the city leaders in Shamrock contracted with the Chicago Bridge and Iron Works to fabricate the Shamrock water tower at a cost of $6,560.

In the early years travelers used it as a photo op to mark their progress through the Panhandle. 

Travelers and locals alike used it as a gathering place as they watered their horses and wagon teams. The concrete troughs under the tower quickly became part of the social fabric of the community. 

Many recall their teen years when the tower was the turnaround for the main drag in town. 

Photos below courtesy: City of Shamrock


Note to Pastor Billy in OK: You’re OKAY

By
Judy
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A note of kindness to Pastor Billy in Sayre, Oklahoma who gave me a place to stay Saturday night after I drifted into town in the rain.

Family Encounters of the Texas Kind

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Judy
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Bill and Jerry Billingsley
After hand washing my jerseys at the church in McLean, Texas I pedaled down the brick road to Lolly’s for dinner. 

The downtown used to have a movie theatre, three womens dress shops, a grocery, several banks and motel. After the highway was routed around the town businesses started to falter. 

Lolly’s was a newer restaurant / grocery set inside one of the former dress shops. 

“How many miles you put on today,” asked David Baird. He was a muscular man with tattoos on his forearms having dinner at Lolly’s with his family and asked me to join them. 

The family encounters really make the tour special. 

Also at the table was David’s wife Candace, their two kids. 

Candace’s parents and then the grandparents, Bill and Jerry Billingsley joined in. 

Jerry was a hoot. She had rich, thick black hair and talked a lot about their busy cowboy lifestyle as they traveled to rodeos and watched their kids and grandkids compete. 

Married to Bill for 53 years Jerry said, “Couldn’t a done it without my faith.”

Uplift Capitol of the World

By
Judy
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Molly McDowell was the wonderful neighbor to First Lutheran Church. She had been the janitor at the church for 30 years. 

“When I was a sophomore in high school I worked at the local bra factory,” she said. “That was a big employer for women in those days. 

Molly is 76. She was soft spoken and talked about family and McLean. 

“My grandfather, Cal Fraser, would sell eggs to the cafes in town,” she said. “That was way before the government got involved.” 

The bra factory lent itself to the town’s current handle of the “Uplift Capitol of the World.”

“I was in the cutting department,” said Molly. “The bras were cotton back then and if you were sewing you had to be fast.” 

Today the Devils Rope/Route 66 Museum is housed in the very building that used to be the bra factory. 

IN TRIBUTE: Bob Becker

By
Judy
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Today Judy Steffes is riding in tribute to Bob Becker.

If you would like me to ride in tribute of your loved one, please email a photo to [email protected] or [email protected], include the person’s name and a brief note if you like, and send your contribution securely by clicking HERE.

The entire $100 donation is tax deductible and will go toward Alzheimer’s programs at Cedar Community.

IN TRIBUTE: Pat Bohn

By
Judy
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Today Judy Steffes is riding in tribute to Pat Bohn, courtesy of Peg Ziegler. 

Finding my OWN rattlesnakes, thankyouverymuch!

By
Judy
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Some photos from Vega to Amarillo and into Conway, Texas. Clicked off 65 miles on Thursday. 

Thought this was an interesting because it featured the colors of the Green Bay Packers but did not say it was the Packers.

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I understand with the recent storms I will have no trouble finding my own rattlesnakes on the road. A woman from the Lutheran church in Amarillo said, “Oh they’re terrible this year!” Her comment about rattlers was similar to how we talk about mosquitoes or lake flies. 
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A look at the crazy amount of garbage people leave behind in the cornfield at this free tourist attraction along I 40. One man said they’re half empty spray cans that people leave for others. It looks horrible.

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This big guy (below) is just down the road from the Cadillac field. He’s touting the Second Amendment.

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Gas prices in Amarillo right before the July 4 holiday.
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This is Mike. I met him at a rest stop along I-40 just east of Amarillo. He was getting on his rain gear and I asked him if the headwinds were always this strong. “It’s the Panhandle,” he said. We talked a bit about the storm warnings and I thought I was in the clear because the threatening skies were definitely ahead of me. 

“But if you look here there’s another system coming up behind us,” he said pointing at the radar on his phone. “If I could fit your bike on my bike id be happy to give you a lift.”

Oh my. I had to hustle. 

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You can see the rainbow ahead and I didn’t even bother with a photo of what was behind. 

Headwinds were about 15 mph and I had 15 miles to go before I would find shelter at Loves truck stop.

That was exhausting … And the so was finding a place to stay. 

There were no churches at the intersection town of Conway. The Executive Motel wanted $69 and the Motel Cafe wanted $40. 

I asked the manager at Loves if u could throw up my tent on a piece of grass out back. “You can,” he said. “The truckers any bother you but the snakes might.”

Inviting, but no. 

The skies were really dark and the Lightning was large so I opted for Motel Cafe. 

Pam at the counter checked me in. “Oh yeah the snakes are bad this year. Matter of fact we just had one crawl up the drain,” she said as I slid my credit card across the counter. 

#allabouttheadventure

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