In Praise of Obsessive-Themed Travel Destinations
One person’s single-minded pursuit of a niche interest can result in a very entertaining roadside attraction.
As you may recall, E and I recently spent four days in south-central Wisconsin. A few weeks ago I shared some observations about what it’s like to drive in the Badger State; today I want to tell you about three of the most enjoyable stops we made along the way.
As it happens, those three travel attractions have one thing in common: Each of them is the product of one person’s intense niche obsession. I know a thing or two about niche obsessions myself, which may explain why I enjoy this type of attraction so much. It’s fun to encounter a bunch of cool stuff to look at or think about, but I find it even more interesting when I know all of that stuff comes from one human being’s fertile imagination.
Here are three such collections of stuff that we encountered during our recent Wisconsin travels.
The Toy Train Barn Museum
Buck Guthrie has always been fascinated by toy trains. His hobby eventually outgrew his family’s house, so about 20 years ago he moved the cows out of his barn and used the vacated space to pursue his grandest model-railroading ambitions.