"Rock Star" road tripper checking in! Self-proclaimed anyway! Road trips and visits to all 50 states are my game. Find your next road trip destinations here. Fill your bucket list with fantastic US journeys. I love road trips and spare no effort in making my travels and experiences inviting for members of the road-tripping family! Pick a trip you want to take, or get inspired to plan your own. - - The Driveby Tourist (or call me Stan!)
Strike it rich in the Natural State! 💎✨
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Ever dreamed of finding a fortune in the dirt? At Crater of Diamonds State Park in Murfreesboro, Arkansas, that dream is a daily reality! 🚜💎 (The dream of mining for them, as very few “strike it rich,” but it’s fun to try!) This unique destination is the only place in the world where the public can search for real diamonds at their original volcanic source—and the best part? Finders keepers! 🎒🙌 Whether it’s a white, brown, or yellow diamond, if you dig it up, it’s yours to take home. (What’s the old saying that follows Finders Keepers? I think it’s Losers Weepers!) The "mine" is actually a massive 37.5-acre plowed field. Visitors bring shovels and buckets (or rent them on-site) to sift through the soil. Since 1906, over 75,000 diamonds have been discovered here, including the famous 40-carat "Uncle Sam." 💎(But that was before it became public. The largest found by the public was 16.37 carats, valued at about $150,000. Not bad for finding on vacation!) It’s a muddy, thrilling, and potentially sparkling adventure for the whole family. Even if you don't find a "big one," the excitement of the hunt is worth the trip alone. 🌟⛏️ Grab your boots and get digging! This place is close to my drive in 2025 between Little Rock and Texarkana. I recently visited Arkansas, but I was on the Great River Road on the Mississippi River. I should have stopped last year! The Driveby Tourist Team ✌️🗺️ "No Pressure, no diamonds.” - Thomas Carlyle Classic Rock song: "Rhinestone Cowboy” by Glenn Campbell, who hails from Arkansas. Please email me about your experiences doing unusual things on your vacations! Here is the Premium Subscription page: You will get early access to new blog posts, one extra weekly newsletter, and access to all past newsletters. And occasionally, I'll ask for votes on content! Stan Featured Post: As I said above, I was near here in 2025 on my “Presidents & Parks” trip and “should have” stopped. Here’s the link to that trip. |
Stan Wiebe
"Rock Star" road tripper checking in! Self-proclaimed anyway! Road trips and visits to all 50 states are my game. Find your next road trip destinations here. Fill your bucket list with fantastic US journeys. I love road trips and spare no effort in making my travels and experiences inviting for members of the road-tripping family! Pick a trip you want to take, or get inspired to plan your own. - - The Driveby Tourist (or call me Stan!)
Mansfield, Ohio, might seem like a quiet town, but it’s home to one of the most iconic locations in cinema history: the Ohio State Reformatory (OSR). This massive Gothic-style prison served as the primary filming location for The Shawshank Redemption, standing in for the "Shawshank State Penitentiary." 🏛️🧱 (The movie's actual setting is in Maine, but it's almost totally filmed in Ohio.) Walking through the eerie, towering cell blocks, you can almost feel the presence of Andy and Red. You can...
This is a "non-typical" newsletter (and off-schedule). I found a category called First Level Administrative Divisions within countries. The largest is over 1 million square miles in Asian Russia. It has nearly a million people but a population density of less than one per square mile. Western Australia is second. Alaska, the largest in the US, comes in at 7th. Twelve US states are in the top 100, with Minnesota coming in at 97th. But, how much of each is land area, and how much is water?...
Fasten your seatbelts, folks—we’re going to dinner! 🍴 If your previous experience with "in-flight dining" involves a lukewarm bag of pretzels and a middle-seat neighbor who snores like a chainsaw, it’s time for a serious upgrade. Across the globe, retired aircraft are being saved from the scrap heap and turned into the coolest diners on the planet. These aren't just themed rooms; they are actual grounded giants where you can dine in the fuselage without worrying about baggage fees or that...