I have to say driving to Erick OK was a snap. I started very early from Little Rock, so I could get the bulk of the driving in before the sun got really high in the sky. I was in Ft Smith before I knew it and stopped for gas. I was apprehensive about keeping my car fueled because I had never driven I-40 that far west before. I know what to expect driving on I-30, but this one was newer to me. It was a welcome change however. I crossed the OK border and onto OK City. I stopped for another bathroom/gas break before I went into OK City and navigated the highway interchanges and traffic I had to pass by pretty easily. Before I knew it I was back in open country again west of OK City.
At this point I was expecting it to get really long and boring, but I was pleasantly surprised by the towns and interesting landscape, massive windmills, pasture land and geology. I also absolutely had to stop at the Cherokee trading post to shop. I pulled in and of course took photos of the 40 foot wooden Indian statue towering over the parking lot, posted to Facebook. of course....
The store was impressive, feasting me to beautiful handmade pottery that was wayyy to expensive and lovely silver hand inlaid jewelry. I finally settle on an adorable pair of coral stone and silver turtle earrings made by the Zuni tribe.
After my shopping I was off to Sayre, where my hotel was. I took an early exit and ended up driving through downtown Sayre, saw City Hall and the court house. I continued on through the town and found the hotel, checked in, dumped my bags in my room, and immediately sought out food. Since I saw nothing of culinary interest in Sayre, I just went across the street to the Denny's for lunch., so I could get on the road to Erick fairly quickly.
In Erick, I took the Roger Miller Memorial Highway to downtown and ran smack dab into Historic Route 66, found the Museum and went inside. The ladies at the packet pick up were extremely nice and I looked around the museum. After that (on the suggestion of the organizers at the museum) I decided to drive down to the Sandy Sanders WMA to see where I would be going in the morning and I'm glad I did. I got an idea of exactly how far it was going to be and how long it was going to take me. It was quite a drive, I'm happy I did it and only made one wrong turn. After viewing the start finish location I stopped at an old cemetery I saw on the way down and took some photos. It was peaceful and sunny, with a brisk breeze, I love days like this! I spent about an hour in the cemetery just reading headstones and wondering what life was like and what those individuals saw during their years. One ladies life spanned almost 100 years from the late 1800's to 1979. Many headstones were of lives cut very short,as either infants or small children, a reminder of how harsh life could be in the Mid west in the late 1800's .
After spending some time with the dead, I went onto to visit the living! I was told about a shop in Erick that was a locally owned staple of the community. Oleta's , was a small yet overly stuffed gift shop with everything from beannie babies to cooking appliances. purses candles, scarves, jewelry, pot holders, pots and pans, and dishes. She was wedding shower central and had one in the works with gifts to choose from and gifts chosen and already gift wrapped waiting to be delivered to the shower. As I was shopping two ladies walked in for shower gifts. Oleta pointed them to the table stating that it was not mandatory they choose from the table, but those were on the regestry. A UPS man came and delivered packages and Oleta was buzzing on the phone about incoming orders. I'm sure if there was anything you needed in Erick Oklahoma, Oleta could get it for you. She lead me around the store, modeled a scarf, and told me about new and sale items. I purchased a scarf and a candle.
After that I headed back to Sayre to get a good nights rest before the Do Wacka Do!.....
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