FEATURED IN JANUARY, 2009

So, you wanna shoot guns, dig with backhoes, race a suzuki, work a jackhammer, and drive a dozer all in one day?  Where do you go?  How about a Disneyland for Dudes?

The most recent edition of Wired Magazine ran a very interesting article about the Mannerspielplatz, which I roughly translate as a “play place for men” (I knew those 3 years of highschool german would come in handy someday).  I went to the Mannerspielplatz, but even my rudimentary German isn’t quite enough to translate all the things you can do at this unique German park.

However, it did get me thinking — could you pull off something similar in the U.S.?  Of course, the version in my head has an jeep/4×4 focus, but adding some big machinery along with some old automobiles, a tank or some other cool stuff might really be fun.  Frankly, there’s all kinds of vehicles I always wanted to drive but never have had the chance.  If the insurance and liability issues could be successfully negotiated, which I’m sure they could, then this could be a really cool idea.