Stories From Past Issues

Stories From Past Issues

Included here are some of our favorite stories from past issues of the Gypsy Journal. To access the stories, just click the links.

Alabama Music Hall of Fame - When you think music, what city comes to mind? Maybe the country music lyrics of Nashville ? Maybe Detroit and the Motown sound? How about the sophisticated performances of New York City, or the blues in Memphis? I bet you didn’t think about Muscle Shoals, Alabama, did you?

America's Stonehenge - Did an ancient civilization build these elaborate New Hampshire stoneworks?

Anastasia Island State Park - Just minutes from all of the tourist hubbub of busy St. Augustine, Florida we discovered a tranquil hideout with miles of beautiful beaches to explore, swimming, fishing, nature trails, comfortable campsites, and a chance to learn a little bit about Florida’s early history.

Border Patrol Museum - El Paso museum honors the men and women who protect America's borders.

Bridges of Parke County - If someone mentions covered bridges, what do you think of? The green hills and picturesque small towns of New Hampshire or Vermont? Maybe the Amish country of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania? How about Indiana? Until a recent visit, we never knew that Parke County, west of Indianapolis, has more covered bridges than any other county in the world, boasting an incredible 30 of the rustic structures!

Buffalo Bill Ranch - Today we may not think of Nebraska as being the Wild West, but there was a time when the Cornhusker State was the very edge of the frontier. Indian fighters, gold prospectors, outlaws, lawmen, ranchers, and settlers all passed through and spent time in Nebraska .One of the most famous Old West names associated with the state was William F. “Buffalo Bill” Cody, the flamboyant buffalo hunter, Indian scout, and showman.

Casino Camping - RVers from coast to coast have discovered the benefits of casino camping, including entertainment, very inexpensive dining, and often free overnight camping!

Chocolate Town - In Hershey, Pennsylvania, even the air smells like chocolate!

Circus World Museum - Explore life under the big top at this Wisconsin museum.

Corn Palace - Rising out of the prairie, it looks like a Moorish castle with its colorful minarets, turrets, and domes. But this garish architectural wonder is 100% American. It is Mitchell, South Dakota’s famous Corn Palace, a showcase of South Dakota agriculture and innovation.

Cross Creek - Author Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings used her life on this rural Florida homestead as the setting for her best selling books.

D Day Museum - A Visit to the New Orleans Museum that honors the men who led the charge that wrested Europe from Nazi control.

Fort Clatsop - The Lewis and Clark expedition spent a miserable winter here on Oregon's Pacific coast.

Gettysburg - A visit to the quiet Pennsylvania town where North and South clashed and made history.

Hank Williams Museum - Journey down to Montgomery to learn more about Alabama's Troubadour.

Harper's Ferry - Few places we have ever visited compare with Harper’s Ferry, West Virginia.Uniquely situated at the confluence of the Potomac and Shenandoah Rivers, nestled in a beautiful valley and steeped in history, Harper’s Ferry has something to delight every visitor.

Historic Natchez - For history, scenic beauty, friendly people, and a chance to visit more wonderful old antebellum mansions than you will find anywhere else in America, put Natchez, Mississippi on your travel itinerary.

Homosassa Springs Wildlife Park - Get up close and personal with manatee and other wildlife at this Florida refuge.

House On The Rock - One of the most unique attractions we have ever run across in our travels is the awe-inspiring House on the Rock, located in Spring Green, Wisconsin. For years people have been telling us about the architectural marvel that houses a museum filled with weird and wild collections of everything from old cars and antique dolls, to the world’s largest carousel, a gaudy contraption of gilt angels, topless mermaids, and fantasy animals. Nothing we were told prepared us for the sheer immenseness of the place!

In The Land of Oz - Dorothy and Toto and her Munchkin pals would feel right at home in this Kansas town!

Ivy Green - A visit to the Alabama birthplace of Helen Keller.

Kentucky Horse Park - If you want to get up close and personal with some of the finest racing horses any jockey ever saw, you need to put a visit to the Kentucky Horse Park on your RVing calendar. Located in Lexington, Kentucky, in the heart of the famous Kentucky Bluegrass region, this is a stop no horse lover or RVer should miss.

Laid Back Lancaster County - If you want to get away from it all, spend some time in Pennsylvania's Amish country.

Last Indian Raid Museum - A visit to the small town Kansas museum that preserves the memory of tragic days on the Great Plaines.

Mammoth Cave National Park - Beneath the green ridges of central Kentucky lies an underground wonderland that has fascinated humans since the dawn of time. A maze of limestone caves honeycomb the area, the granddaddy of them all being Mammoth Cave , with more than 350 miles of surveyed passageways.

Marblehead Light - Standing regally on a point of land at the entrance to Ohio’s Sandusky Bay, Marblehead Lighthouse has guided ships and sailors safely along the rocky shoreline of Lake Erie for nearly 185 years.

Mid-America Air Museum - If you appreciate fine old airplanes and love the romance of flight, the Mid-America Air Museum is well worth getting off the interstate for a trip down a two lane highway to Liberal, Kansas.

Museum of Drag Racing - If you like speed, you'll love as visit to this Florida racing museum.

Mustard Museum - Tucked away in an ordinary looking building on the main street of a small town in Wisconsin, we came across a unique and fun little museum that could best be described as deliciously fun. Boasting a collection of over 3,500 different mustards from around the world, the Mount Horeb Mustard Museum is the creation of Barry Levenson, a former Wisconsin assistant attorney general.

Natchez Trace Parkway - It winds nearly 450 miles through woodlands, meadows, and hills, past waterfalls, historic sites, and across rivers and streams. Indians, explorers, frontiersmen, soldiers, boatmen, bandits, adventurers and pilgrims have walked its length. It has been the scene of tragedy and triumph for centuries. It is the Natchez Trace.

National Balloon Museum - Located in Indianola, Iowa, this fun museum traces the history of the sport of ballooning.

National Civil War Museum - Harrisburg, Pennsylvania is home to one of the best museums on the American Civil War to be found anywhere. Located in beautiful Reservoir Park , the National Civil War Museum is the only museum that covers the entire American Civil War, with equally balanced portrayals of both the Union and Confederate causes.

National Corvette Museum - No other automobile defines America’s love of the open road like the Chevrolet Corvette. A blend of aerodynamic styling and pure performance, the Corvette has been America ’s sports car from the time the very first Vette rolled off the assembly line in 1953.

National Motorcycle Museum - If you love old motorcycles, put a visit to this Iowa museum a at the top of your travel plans. The museum displays one of the finest collections of motorcycles and motorcycle memorabilia to be found anywhere.

Oregon Trail Interpretive Center - The trials and tribulations of the pioneers who came west on the Oregon Trail are remembered at this fascinating Oregon museum.

Quartzsite - It's been called Woodstock For RVers, this mecca that attracts thousands of snowbirds to the Arizona desert every January.

RV Hall of Fame Museum - In Elkhart, Indiana the RV Hall of Fame Museum traces our RV roots.

Saguaro National Park - Saguaro National Park, located near Tucson, Arizona, offers visitors an opportunity to experience saguaro cacti and other desert plants and wildlife firsthand.

Sleeping Bear Dunes - Wind and waves have sculpted a unique landscape on the Lake Michigan shore.

Titan Missile Museum - Twenty miles south of Tucson, Arizona a sobering relic of the past allows visitors to travel through time to stand on the front line of the Cold War, a time when mankind stood on the very brink of destruction. The Titan Missile Museum is the only publicly accessible Titan II missile site in the country.

Tuzigoot National Monument - Perched on a hilltop in the high desert of Arizona’s Verde Valley, the ruins of the Sinagua Indian pueblo of Tuzigoot give visitors an opportunity to look back in time and walk in the footsteps of an ancient civilization.

Veterans Memorial Museum - The vision of a rural Nebraska man named Fred Hoppe has created what the Veterans Task Force calls one of the "greatest tributes ever completed to honor our country's veterans" and what we personally felt was one of most moving museums we have ever visited.

Wall Drug - You see them everywhere from Alaska to the London subway, and alongside highways throughout the West. Those prolific Wall Drug signs. You may not really know what or where Wall Drug is, but if you do much traveling you’ve almost certainly seen their signs somewhere along the way. But do you know the story behind the signs?