If you've ever watched an action movie and been jealous of the person steamrolling over everything in his path as he barrels along in a tank, there's an attraction in Kasota, Minnesota that you might find interesting.
According to USA Today, "a business named Drive-a-Tank offers drivers the chance to pilot surplus military tanks and other armored vehicles around an old limestone quarry and smash junk cars like an action movie hero."
Jacob Ostling, 19, traveled from Connecticut to try it out and ended up flattening a car. "It was awesome. I mean, controlling that machine, it's incredible," he said.
Tony Borglum, a construction and heavy equipment contractor, owns the company. He opened the tank park in 2009. He had seen similar attractions in England and said he knew Americans would like the chance to live out their Rambo and Call of Duty fantasies. To start his business, he bought tanks that were in surplus from the Cold War era; he currently has 11 armored vehicles.
On a 20-acre site that's approximately 50 miles away from Minneapolis, customers pay almost $400 to drive the tank through a hilly, wooded landscape and shooting a machine gun. There's a pricier package that includes driving several models and shooting weapons like an assault rifle. Driving over a car will cost an extra $549, and customers have the chance to drive the tank through a trailer home for an estimated $3,500.
Brad Walker of Amboy, Indiana said the experience "was very realistic," and Marvin Bourne said that despite the noise, the heat, and the difficulty involved in maneuvering the machine, "it's just…a blast."
Although Borglum admits that his tank park wasn't the country's first, he said he doesn't know of any other similar companies still operating. Kessa Baedke, Drive-a-Tank's event coordinator said that over 600 packages have been sold this year.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
