Conesville Redneck Revival 24

Brad and I met in Conesville at the Redneck Revival. We’ve been meeting at this rally for a number of years.  The appeal is to visit with friends who we met at this rally several years ago.  The rally itself is located in the middle of cornfields.  There is a quarter-mile drag racing track.  The track is open for anyone and any machine as long as the driver attends the driver’s safety meeting and wears a helmet.  A driver can race other drivers or just race the clock.  I’ve seen motorcycles of all types race down the track. The serious race enthusiasts zoom their nitros cars, trucks, and motorcycles down the track.  I’ve seen a motorized picnic table race down the track.  Pretty awesome entertainment.  Don’t forget earplugs!  The track gets extremely loud during burnouts and races.  The track is open to everyone to race any wheeled machine.  On Saturday morning there is a competition which is exciting to watch. 

Besides the two-lane drag track, the venue offers a number of events open to everyone.  Some highlights are the dash for cash.  This is where participants run through a mud bog course naked.  The winner gets a bucket of cash at the end.  There is a mud bog too.  After the dash for cash, there is usually a parade around the campground.  Rally goers ride their motorcycles, golf carts, or other all-terrain vehicles while wearing costumes or nothing at all.  If I recall correctly, the parade might occur multiple times during the weekend.  In the evenings, there are usually two bands scheduled to play at the main stage.  Directly in front of the main stage is a concrete dance area.  Viewers often park their golf carts and motorcycles in the grass on the edge of the concrete area.  This allows people to sit on their bikes to watch the bands.  Adjacent to the outdoor stage is a large covered area with another stage, bar, dancing area, and picnic tables.  On that stage, there is a DJ, comedian, or other shows.  There is a zip line extending from the stage along one side of the covered area.  Yep, a zip line.  There is an 8-foot soft penis to land on at the end of the zip line.  One year, there were a few mattresses under the zip line for folks that fall off before reaching the end of the line.  Apparently, one year, someone fell off and broke a leg and thus the mattresses were added. 

Events officially start on Thursday nights with a themed party.  The latest I recall was a 50’s-style band with slicked-back hair and 50’s attire. This band had a large double bass which sounded awesome.  Most people in attendance on Thursday night get costumed up in themed attire; couples are in character-matching costumes, short skirts, lingerie, and things your eyes won’t believe.  Adult party and no cameras allowed.  Thursday night is known as the “perv review”.  The perv review consists of various beauty and best-of-class-type contests.  Not for the faint of heart!  Brad and I get a kick out of watching people watch people. Watching humans consume alcohol at these themed events is a fun experience. 

On Saturday, there is a king and queen contest on an elevated stripper stage. The king and queen contests are separate.  Participants volunteer from the crowd.  Once the MC introduces who is on stage, the DJ will play a song.  The contestants will dance provocatively until the song ends.  Then the MC will use a noise meter to eliminate contestants. The loudest cheers from the crowd determine which contestant remains on stage to dance to the next song until the winner is declared.  The winner gets a bucket of money that contains donations from the crowd.  I think last year it was around $800 for the queen and maybe $400 for the king.  There is something to see for everyone!  

 The highlight for me in 2024 at Conesville was the tornado warning.  I can never remember the difference between a tornado watch and a warning.  A watch is when conditions are favorable for a tornado, so people should be prepared.  A tornado warning is when a tornado is imminent, and people should take action, like take shelter now.  I was in my hammock when the sky suddenly darkened.  The wind began to whip my rain tarp away from the trees, and rain started pouring down.  There was some thunder and lightning too.  My cell phone broadcasted an alert declaring a tornado warning and residents should seek shelter.  I felt the trees swaying and pulling my hammock with them.  I felt that my hammock was about to be converted into a hang glider against my will.  I have déjà vu from two years earlier when I was in my hammock at this exact same campsite, and a tornado warning happened.  Here I am again dealing with the same unexpected weather!  The intensity of the storm lasted several minutes.  It passed just as abruptly as it came.  I posted a short video on Instagram showing my hammock blowing in the wind.  Brad’s son, Andrew, saw my video and immediately called Brad.  Brad was inside his rock star bus.  Andrew said the man is going to die in the storm or get struck by lightning, let him inside the RV!  

Note that the pictures are my photos from earlier years at the rally and not all from 2024.  My short videos from those two tornados are posted at the links below.

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.

Back Room Cafe

We entered Cushing, Oklahoma and saw a sign advertising restaurants in the Broadway District.  I chose to follow the sign in the hope of finding an appealing selection of restaurants.  We stopped at a four-way intersection controlled by an official stop sign in the center of the intersection, opposed being posted on the side of the street.  The stop sign was in a large planter and looked to be removable.  The streets are wide with angled parking on both sides of the street.  The vacant parking spots make the streets appear very wide.  I imagine there is plenty of space for block parties, parades and events of sorts.

I spotted a directional sign to the Back Room Cafe. Back Room? This might be interesting.  I followed the direction of the sign, and my eyes scanned for the Back Room.  We found it at the end of the Copper Penny Trading Company.  A large brick three-story building.  The cafe sign was small, and there were large flower decals on the glass door.  Brad and I briefly exchanged looks, wondering if this was a tea cafe or some boutique cafe with scones?  We opened the door.  It opened to the kitchen.  We were surprised to peer into a busy kitchen.  Should we walk away? We heard a voice call out, “Come on in!” We did.  We walked through the kitchen and took seats at the counter.  The stools at the counter overlooked the activity of the kitchen.  A friendly woman with a hairstyle that resembled a beehive welcomed us. 

Brad and I sip on our iced teas as we watch the activity in front of us. The cooks appear to be a family: mom, dad, and teen daughter.  As our conversation with the cooks continued, we learned they were not a family, simply coworkers.  The woman asks us what brings us to Cushing.  Without hesitation, Brad declares we are here for vacation. He continues talking about our motorcycle ride to nowhere.  He talks about some of the locations we’ve experienced in years past.  We are told no one comes to Cushing for vacation; it isn’t a vacation destination. The woman who appears to be in command of the kitchen staff talks about the town and how it has changed over the years. Somehow, the conversation turned to culture changes. Years ago, the military experienced a president that declared the don’t ask, don’t tell rule.  Society was changing.  Then the woman with the attractive beehive hairstyle asked Brad and me how long we’ve been together.  Brad immediately answers about 20 years.  He continues telling the story that we started riding together when we both lived in California.  The woman emphasizes, “California, huh?”  I get the feeling there is something lost in translation.  I let them know we are married but not to each other.  We got some chuckles out of that one.  Brad and I are motorcycle riding partners.  Partners takes on a whole new meaning in today’s society.  The misunderstanding might be because of that faded T-shirt Brad was wearing.  It looks pink!

Our experience at the Back Room Cafe was the highlight of our day. The food was delicious. The conversation with the staff carried on during our whole meal. The cafe filled up with diners seeking the daily special. 

We walked from the cafe inside the building to the other shops.  A variety of goods were for sale. We discovered that we had entered through the back door.  The back door to the Back Room Cafe!  The building was restored with creaky hardwood floors.  A neat place to visit.  Another exciting experience at a small business cafe!