Erick, Oklahoma

Friend and Route 66 traveling partner, Chip,

 giving Lil Dude a hand in front of the

Welcome to Eric sign.

A few miles down Route 66 from Sayre, Oklahoma is the small town of Erick, home to the Roger Miller Museum and the famous Sandhills Curio Shop. Lil Dude was traveling Route 66 and stopped in for a visit.

The Roger Miller Museum is dedicated to the life and career of Erick's native son, entertainer Roger Miller. The hours open are not many (Wed - Sat 10:00 - 5:00 and Sunday 1:00 - 5:00) so don't be like Lil Dude and expect it to be open on a Monday or Tuesday. Since he was just passing through and was there on a Monday, he had to be content with trying to look through the window!

The Sandhills Curio Shop is not to be missed if you are traveling Route 66. After driving down the Mother Road for awhile, the auto museums, historic motels, rusty gas pumps, throwback burger joints, and tchotchke shops start to blur together. The nostalgia can feel a bit canned and inauthentic, but then you happen upon Sandhills Curiosity Shop, owned by a true and proud redneck hoarder named Harley. The shop is filled with antique signs, whiskey bottles, ashtrays, tambourines, and guitars interspersed with tourist photos and nothing is for sale. Harley has been entertaining Route 66 travelers for over 30 years. With his late wife Annabelle, they formed The Mediocre Music Makers and gave many a traveler a memory that will last a long time.

If you happen to find yourself near Erick, Oklahoma traveling Interstate 40 and its mind-numbing miles of nothing but concrete, give yourself a break and a treat. Lil Dude says stop at Erick for a while and see what there is to see!

Sandhills Curiosity Shop

Harley & Annabelle took a shine to Lil Dude!

The Mediocre Music Makers & Lil Dude in

front of their Sandhills Curiosity Shop