T H
E P A R T Y B U S |
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...The blue bus is
callin' us... The blue bus is callin' us... And meet me at the back of
the blue bus...
--The Doors |
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The 'Party Bus', Brighton, Iowa |
explored & photographed by:
Casper
Casper has explored/photographed yet
another really cool place for us... goooo Casper... *cheers*!!! But I
will shut up now, and ler her tell us the story of this intriguing
lost place in her own words... *smile*
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"I
grew up in a small town called Brighton. It is a really small town of
about 685 people, and back in the 80’s and early 90’s this place
was booming. I remember every weekend during the summer time half the
people of Brighton would gather down at the River on the outside of
town for full weekend parties. Camping, drinking, swimming, fishing,
the whole works. It was convenient that a small bar, called, The Skunk
River Lodge was right there. It was the place to be. |
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I
wasn’t very old back then, but can still remember how much fun
it was to be with my friends as our parents had their fun. We’d
always be everywhere. The camp grounds, the bar, in the river,
roaming around spying on the adults. All the fun a young girl and
her friends would do to get in trouble and when I got older it was
the spying on the boys, making out behind trees, stealing beers
from the coolers, and playing practical jokes on everyone else. |
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The
bar, also known as a biker bar, would always have dances, karaoke,
wet t-shirt contests, fishing contests, biker rallies, and tons of
other fun things. It was always a party. That is until the bar
closed down and everyone quit going down there to camp and party.
I don’t know what happened. I was 15 the last time I walked into
the bar and camped down there. Everyone just quit going.
Maybe it was the drugs that got everyone freaked out, or
maybe people just got old and tired of playing around. Whatever it
was the place was left abandoned. Only the bus that a couple in
Brighton owned was left there, with cement blocks once used for
tables, and the bar was turned into a rental house. |
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Sometimes
people would camp down there, and people still used the boat dock
down the road but as for all the fun parties and bar time fun,
that ended. All of a sudden The Skunk River Lodge came into the
news three times in 2004. Once because there was a meth lab back
in the woods, and rumor spread like wild fire that it had to do
with the old bar. But it didn’t. Just some dumb ass people
thinking it would be a safe place to do it at since no one ever
camped back there. |
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Then
there was talk about the bar opening back up and the person living there
was going to fix it up and the owners were going to re-open to try once
again to salvage the time lost there. But that didn’t happen either,
because for some reason on an early fall morning in late September, the
old bar went up in flames. Blew the side right out of it. It was ruined.
Still standing up, but charred on the inside to the point where there
isn’t any more reason to even think about reopening the bar.
Now
they are starting to tear it down. I don’t know what is going to
happen with the bar, but the siding is now off it, and the sign no
longer stands. At least memories still exist..." --Casper
...and a great big *HUG/KISS*
especially from me to Casper, for being so awesome and sharing such cool
stuff with us... thanks, m'dear!!!
Do you have any background information or stories to tell about this abandoned
site?
All Rights Reserved by the Author.
Reprinted here with permission.
+OUT OF BUSINESS+
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