PHOTOS: The Best and Weirdest Roadside Dinosaurs
The concrete and plastic dinosaurs beside America’s highways can be strange and beautiful. Tell us which one you think is the best
Cowboy-Meets-Dino, Natural Bridge, Virginia
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Triceratops Randy, Hanksville, Utah
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"Trixie" Triceratops Topiary, Valencia Street, San Francisco, California
While mulling over what kind of topiary he wanted in his parklet, reader ‘deep saw a photo of a snow Triceratops I posted two years ago. “Boom! Immediate win!!” he thought—the “serious cuteness” of Triceratops made the dinosaur the top pick for the garden sculpture. The process from clay model to finished dinosaur took about three weeks, and while Triceratops were not composed of lots of tiny plants, ‘deep is right that the sculpture is technically a “real, live dinosaur.” You can see the dinosaur—named “Trixie”—along Valencia Street in San Francisco, California.
For the whole story, including photos of the process, see ‘deep’s blog. Many thanks to ‘deep for this huge compliment to Dinosaur Tracking!
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Think you've come across any dinos in your travels worth sharing? You can send your submissions to [email protected].
Goony Golf, New York
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T-rex Teeing Off, Oshkosh, Wisconsin
Dinosaurs and mini-golf: The two complement each other. Granted, dinosaurs probably wouldn’t have been very good at the pastime—imagine how hard it would be for Carnotaurusto use a putter—but they make for excellent fairway decor. And in some places, the dinosaurs remain even after the mini-golf course has closed. Paleontologist Joe Peterson sent in this example: a Tyrannosaurus standing over a closed course in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. Maybe it’s just the position of the hands, but the tyrant seems to be begging. “MOAR TASTY TOURISTS, PLZ?”
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Think you've come across any dinos in your travels worth sharing? You can send your submissions to [email protected].
Long-snouted Triceratops, Dinosaur, Colorado
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Dinos Down, abandoned Spreepark, Berlin
Kuriositas laid out the park’s backstory. When the static dinosaurs were put in place, Kulturpark Plänterwald was in Soviet-controlled East Berlin. The theme park was the only one on the communist side of the Berlin Wall. But when East and West Germany reunited in 1989, the park quickly collapsed. / Photo by Flickr user davidrush.
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Dilapidated Dino, Stewart's Petrified Wood near Petrified Forest National Park, Arizona
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Tyrannosaurus, Kentucky’s Dinosaur World
While not the absolute worst dinosaur I have ever seen, this Tyrannosaurus at the entrance to Kentucky’s Dinosaur World is one of the creepiest. So if the head is up there, and the legs are on either side, what part of the dinosaur am I walking into, exactly?/ Photo by Kelly Enright.
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Think you've come across any dinos in your travels worth sharing? You can send your submissions to [email protected].
Mosasaur-Out-of-Water, Kentucky
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Decaying Dino, Interstate 15, Victorville, California
Reader Mark Ryan sent in this sad, decaying dinosaur that stands near Interstate 15 in the vicinity of Victorville, California. No wonder the dinosaur needs those metal rods to support itself—its legs look like they’re made of cooked noodles./ Photo by Mark Ryan.
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Dinah, the Pink Sauropod, Vernal, Utah
The stretch of Highway 40 that cuts through downtown Vernal, Utah is dotted with dinosaurs. Many of them take the form of Dinah, the town’s pink sauropod mascot. Of the many incarnations of the cartoon, one stands out as my favorite.
Right along the eastbound side of the road there is a version of Dinah in a polka dot bikini, and the platform she stands on exclaims “Let’s swim!” The sign makes me smile every time. Forgetting for a moment exactly why a dinosaur would need a swimsuit—and a bikini at that!—the sign was made during a time when the massive sauropod dinosaurs were thought to spend most of their time in the water. They didn’t so much swim as wallow in all those restorations, but having a “Brontosaurus” encourage tourists to go for a swim was fitting. We now know differently. Sauropods were not only dedicated land-lubbers, but as found by paleontologist Donald Henderson, complex air-filled pockets inside their bodies would have made them buoyant and unstable in the water. If Dinah went into the pool for a dip, she’d have an easier time just floating than swimming.
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Think you've come across any dinos in your travels worth sharing? You can send your submissions to [email protected].
Wrinklesaurus, Jurupa, California
This strange wrinklesaurus stands outside the Jurupa Mountains Discovery Center in Jurupa, California. If you put the dinosaur through the wash, I’m sure those wrinkles will come right out.
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Think you've come across any dinos in your travels worth sharing? You can send your submissions to [email protected].
A Cheerful Diplodocus, Dinosaur National Monument, Utah
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Star-Spangled Theropod, Beloit, Wisconsin
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Quebecois Theropod
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Colorful Stegosaurus, Dinosaur National Monument, Utah
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Wire Spinosaurus, Granger, Washington
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Crocosaurus, Jensen, Utah
While driving along Interstate 40 toward eastern Utah’s Dinosaur National Monument, you can’t miss the roadside dinosaurs. They’re all over the place. Many are concentrated in Vernal, about a 20-minute drive to the west of the national park, but a few stand near the highway in the small town of Jensen. One of my favorites is this fellow—an old, cracked dinosaur that could probably be called “Crocosaurus.” The thing looks more like an alligator doing a dinosaur impression than a real dinosaur, yet there is something unmistakably dinosaurian about it. I’ve been wondering about why this should be. Is it just the upright posture, or is there something else that clearly makes the model a dinosaur? As crude as it is, this restoration always makes me think about what—in the cultural realm, at least—makes a dinosaur.
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Think you've come across any dinos in your travels worth sharing? You can send your submissions to [email protected].
A Stegosaurus of a Different Color
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Wall Drug T. rex, Wall, South Dakota
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Spinosaurus Scoop, Gilroy, California
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Blanding Brontosaurus, Blanding, Utah
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Tyrannosaurus Asks "Paper or Plastic?," Drumheller, Alberta, Canada
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Mrs. Hadrosaur, Nashville, Tennessee
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Polka-Dot Triceratops, Jordan, Montana
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South of the Border Dinosaur, North Carolina-South Carolina State Line
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Spike and Company, Holbrook, Arizona
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Tyrannosaurus Loves Wood Furniture, Ontario, Canada
This Tyrannosaurus was spotted along Hwy 11 in Ontario, Canada, looming over the wooden chairs at the Woodmill of Muskoka furniture store. Just why the store has the dinosaur on-guard outside isn’t clear, but it certainly seems to attract attention!
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Think you've come across any dinos in your travels worth sharing? You can send your submissions to [email protected].
I-65's Top Predator, Kentucky
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Mr. Rex, Cabazon, California
This 100-ton T.Rex was created in 1981 by sculptor Claude K. Bell to draw visitors to his Wheel Inn Cafe. At one time, a slide was built into the Tyrannosaurs' tail, but it was later filled in with concrete. Mr. Rex, sits beside a similarly sized Apatosaurus, named Dinny. The two stand guard over Interstate 10, near the Cabazon exit. / Photo courtesy of Flickr user lumierefl.
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Think you've come across any dinos in your travels worth sharing? You can send your submissions to [email protected].
Minne the Lake Monster, Minneapolis, Minnesota
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A Superior Dinosaur, Duluth, Minnesota
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