Party Bus Route 66 Campground

The Route 66 Biker Rally Campground in Depew, Oklahoma, is our basecamp.  Brad and I arrived a few days early and explored the surrounding area.  We found the Pipeline Crossroads of the World.  We dined in the 50’s-style Boomerang Diner.  We found another bike rally venue nearby.  We spent some time chatting with a gun shop owner in Bristow. You can read those experiences in past posts on this blog.  

Now we are at the Rt 66 Biker Rally Campground as other event goers are arriving. The rock star bus is backed up to a large Butler-style building with roll-up garage doors along both sides of the building. Each RV spot has its own door to access the building.  I used the darkness of the building to adjust my headlamp one day.  As people arrive, they are parking their motorcycles inside the building for shade.  Folks begin to set up picnic tables and use the cooler climate of the building to serve meals.  Brad and I are invited to lunch with a large group set up on the opposite side of the building.  We share some stories and get to know more about our neighbors. There were many folks talking about their experiences at Little Sturgis.  Little Sturgis is a bike rally that takes place in July in western Kentucky.  Our new neighbors usually attend each July and have a lot of good stories about their experiences there.  We might have to add Little Sturgis Rally to our destination list.

The owner of the campground stores classic vehicles inside the garage the RVs are parked near.  There are some cool cars and trucks here.  While admiring the old vehicles, we discover a WWF-style wrestling rink set up in a room at the end of the building.  We learn there will be a wrestling match.  Every chair in the room was full the day of the match. Women were cheering on the muscle-bound male wrestlers as they ripped off their shirts when introduced for the match.  The energy was high in the makeshift area.  I can’t decide which was more entertaining, watching the wrestling match or watching the fan-crazed attendees. Definitely a cool experience.

Brad cooked, don’t tell Krista!  Brad decides to get his grill out and cook for our neighbors. Here is a picture because no one believes me that Brad cooked!

We met some new rally friends who set up camp a few sites down from us.  Randy & Shannon and Sean & Heather.  Randy and Sean make their living in the oil industry.  Sean makes money with his wells.  Randy makes money keeping well pumps working.  They each had a neat story on how they got started in the business.  The six of us shared hours of stories while hanging out around camp. We discovered the “Party Bus” together.  The Party Bus is an old Chevy school bus painted pink and green.  It has the words Party Bus painted on it among other things like free camping, lingerie show, screw cancer, etc. The seats inside the party bus were mostly intact like a traditional school bus.  There were two sections where the seats were replaced with bench seats along the sides leaving the floor open.  The open floor had dancer poles secured from the floor to the roof.  A few passengers lived their dream becoming exotic dance stars as the bus navigated a loop within the campground.  It was like a booze bus that picked partiers up around the camp sites and dropped them off at the main stage area.  One night after the bands were finished, Brad and I rode the bus continuously along the route maybe three times.  It was very entertaining to watch people get on and stumble off the booze bus.  

Overall the Rt 66 Biker Rally and Campground was a pretty cool experience.  There were groups that have been attending for many years.  The property has a pond with a slide where folks would swim, bands were good, the lingerie show was nice, most of all meeting people and hearing their stories were the highlight.  The owner carried a wallaby around in a shopping bag while smoking medical marijuana!  She was a hoot to listen to! 

Rt 66 Main Street America - Bristow

That yellow boom truck from last week is still being washed!  Brad and I saddle up, wave to the maintenance man washing the yellow truck, and ride out of the campground on our iron horses.  Ha! I can be creative.  

The Route 66 Biker Rally campground sign says it is in Milfay, Oklahoma.  The rally gear says Depew, Oklahoma.  The venue is between Milfay and Depew.  The Historic Route 66 Highway runs between the two towns.  Along the road, you can see the remains of the original Route 66 with grass growing in the cracks and remains of old buildings. The visual is exciting knowing we are laying our eyes on the historic “Mother Road.”  It is also a little eerie to see the decaying structures.  Route 66 connected rural areas with larger cities post-World War II. Route 66 was referred to as “Main Street America.”  Brad and I are excited to see some of the lesser-known small towns along the route.

We find the Town of Depew. We park across from the post office and walk Main Street.  Not much going on and not many businesses.  I did take a few fantastic photos of our motorcycles with the old main street buildings and a water tower.

Next stop, Bristow.  We ride our bikes east from Depew.  We note the presence of the original section of Route 66 that is abandoned.  The railroad tracks follow along the road as well.  I can’t help but think of the vehicle and railroad traffic through the area many decades ago.  We lean our bikes around a sharp curve, and I spot a sign that says VFW Wake Island Memorial.  Brad and I usually stop at VFWs when we have the opportunity.  Our best VFW story took place in Wadsworth, Ohio.  That is where we met Gary Broadbent, a member of the world championship USA Boomeranging Team. You’ll have to search the story archives to read about that day! 

After spotting the Wake Island Memorial sign, I led Brad into the parking lot of a Chinese restaurant to turn around.  We found the VFW Wake Island Memorial.  It is closed.  So we continued our ride into a bigger town called Bristow.

Route 66 lives up to its name, leading us to “Main Street” in Bristow.  As we follow the left turn from a traffic light, I am admiring the busier main street with colorful business signs and activity.  Brad roars up beside me to get my attention.  He read a sign that said “Half Price Hamburgers Every Monday” and “All you can eat Famous Fish Fridays”.  Today is Monday, so we turn the bikes around.  Parking is parallel along the street and full.  We park and take a short walk to the Boomarang Diner.  The diner has a ‘50s style and feel. It is very appropriately decorated in connection to the historic Route 66 era.  Brad and I enjoy diners like this.  The diner has a black and white checkered floor.  Old-style sturdy tables and chairs.  Antique display items and vintage photos.  I think there may have been some pies on display behind an old-style thick glass display case.  The atmosphere, food, and service were fantastic.  Brad and I dined at the Boomarang a couple of times during our stay.  On Friday, Brad enjoyed the fish fry and I went for a root beer float!

With our bellies satisfied, Brad and I walked back to our motorcycles. The street was busy with mid-day traffic.  As we approached our motorcycles, we noticed something on the seats of both bikes.  It was a business card with an arrowhead attached to it.  We noticed that we were parked close to a gun store, Shooters Shop, which is what the card indicated.  So we went inside. We opened the door and were greeted by this happy dog with long, bright white, fluffy hair.  Brad and the dog immediately connected as Brad stopped in his tracks to give the friendly dog some attention.  Inside the store and beyond the dog was a trike-style motorcycle and a wheeled Gatling gun. What a combination!  Paul, an Air Force Vietnam Veteran and owner of Shooter Shop, told us about the Gatling gun and that he didn’t ride his motorcycle often anymore.  Amanda, his bride, offered us some popcorn.  The dog followed Brad around the shop. We talked with Paul about firearms a bit.  Very capable gunsmith, shop owner, and patriot.  As I write this, I discover that Paul passed away in 2024.  I imagine Paul is back on his motorcycle enjoying his final ride.