Tuesday, June 5, 2012

Dinosaurs in the Desert

This post falls under the "weird things you only see in the desert" category. This spot is on the edge of the Morongo Indian Reservation and about 20 miles from Palm Springs. Yes, it's in the desert. Yes, it's seen better days. Still, I'm really glad I stopped there.  It cost me about 5 dollars to see them and I was the only customer idiot there.

If this T-Rex looks huge, that's because it is. Those are full sized palm trees.  Hey! Is that a porthole?

I have to admit that this guy was kind of scary looking.  It was also very realistic. Of course, I've never seen a dinosaur in person, but still...

I don't like this one at all. Seriously, look at those beady eyes!

Another scary looking one. This guy was about 20 feet tall.

You really have to watch out for these Velociraptors.  Of course, anyone that has seen Jurassic Park, knows that already... 

I threw this one in for scale.  That upper doorway is at least 30 feet off the ground.  

I suppose this soldier was part of a display. It looks like he might have had a rifle in his hands at one time. Further, it looks like he might have had fingers at one time also. Either a Dino was gnawing at his hands, or some hyper-active children have helped themselves to fingers, as souvenirs. Now that I think about it, maybe he is just giving us the "hang loose" sign....
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Places like this are why I love the desert. you just don't see things like this in civilized or urban areas.  I wonder how they stay in business.  I was there on a Saturday and like I said above, I was the only customer!



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56 comments:

  1. I think they are wonderful. I guess there isn't a lot of upkeep or food required for that prehistoric zoo and so they continue to survive on minimum tourist traffic

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  2. Your five bucks was well spent, Pat. It should feed those huge fierce dinos for at least a day or two.

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  3. That is awesome Pat- This is why I love the desert too- just plain weird- Kinda like the ghost towns- all stories of something that used to be and now still is but with a different vibe.

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  4. this was fun! i'd have been there, too! :)

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  5. These are terrific, Pat, and as always, I love your commentary! The things we can find in the desert can be fun, can't they? Enjoy your day -- don't get too close to the dinos!

    Sylvia

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  6. Those are cool photos Pat! They sure look hungry!

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  7. I remember years ago when Ben and I were out there. At that time there was only one dino.

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  8. Perhaps the fingers had to be snapped off in order to pry the gun out of its cold dead hands.

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  9. Beautiful photos in a wonderful place. No doubt you have really captured those very realistically T.Rex. I loved this series.

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  10. These are wonderful!!! Do they live in the brontosaurus?

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  11. Love the dino pics, especially the brontosaurus building - lol.

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  12. With nobody there it was perfect for you to take pics this great. That place looks so cool...out in the desert ...in the middle of nowhere...maybe they come alive at night???

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  13. Great photos! I had no idea they have things like this in the desert. . .

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  14. Great photos. I had no idea there were things like this in the desert!

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  15. That was a fun one, Pat. I have a vague recollection of my family driving by those dinosaurs at some point, but we never got too close. Thanks for the post.

    xoRobyn

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  16. Interesting places. It's probably better to find dinos with portholes than the real deal. Someone needs to call wounded warriors for the soldier. Those guy are amazing.

    Darryl and Ruth :)

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  17. you know, i've been looking for some strange and interesting place to go over my birthday weekend within reasonable driving distance to SB. maybe i'll check this out. ^_^

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  18. Too cool! I would have loved to go to this place when I was a kid.

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  19. Oh wow that is hilarious. Maybe the people pay, but they get eaten by the dinosaurs. :)

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  20. I have not spent enough time in the desert to either like or dislike it. But, I did visited what was once a ghost town in Arizona that has become a popular tourist spot.

    However, I have a grandson who even at the grown up age of sixteen (last week) would love this place and we would have a hard time getting him to leave. He has been drawing dinosaur cartoons and writing a fantasy book with dinosaurs as the characters since he was ten.

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  21. I'd definitely enjoy this place, it's so unusual. I love stumbling across these types of places.

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  22. Wow..those are huge dinosaurs, and their teeth are truly fearsome! I like them in photos :-)

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  23. Wow! I agree with Alex - they do all look angry. And scary. Still, interesting juxtaposition.

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  24. i really love the desert too.

    they are wonderful!
    terrific shots as usual , pat!

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  25. You are so right. Several years ago we drove to Reno and saw all kinds of strange things in the desert. I'd love to take the grands to see the dinosaurs.

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  26. Thanks for the up close and personal shots of the Dinos. Several times I have wanted to get of the highway and take a look.

    What about those fingers though?

    And one more thing to add to your list of good things about the desert---date shakes.

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  27. Hee! My parents used to live in Palm Springs and I remember the one time we actually stopped there on our way out. The offspring was in a dinosaur phase at the time. Did you go up into the belly of the beast? Some really...interesting...air in there.

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  28. These are fantastic! I did not know they existed. Perhaps there's a reason to visit Palm Springs after all.

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  29. You must impress the only customer in such a place.

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  30. Grrreat desert dinos, Pat.
    Have a terrific weekend.

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  31. I LOVE this!!! The fourth one down is my fave. What a strange exhibit - and a deal for five bucks. Never know what you'll find in the middle of nowhere. happy weekend to you Pat.

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  32. Great photos of this dinosaur in the desert bunch. I'll bet it might scare some children!

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  33. Really!!!! Your whole life in Calif and this is the first time you have seen these!!! Again, really!!!

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  34. I can't be sure but I think I have seen those dinosaurs. When I was a kid there was a dinosaur park near where I lived and it was my favourite place in the whole world. My mother tells me that when my kindergarten class visited the park I knew all the names of the dinosaurs and became the impromptu tour guide.

    The dinosaurs were all sold off years ago after the owner died, but these ones have an eerily familiar look. Maybe this is their final resting place?

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  35. The desert is one of those places that hold allure for me, along with China, Japan, India and the Arctic. For any number of reasons, I don't expect to be visiting any of those places in this lifetime. Thank you for taking us along on your trips. This is how I like to experience 140 degrees, dry skin and monsters. :)
    Rosemary

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  36. Looks like a cool place to visit. Maybe they are busier once the summer really hits and the kids are out of school.

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  37. Where dinosaurs go to die... hahaha... not pretty, are they? There's a park with old Chinese cultural statues in this town I'm in... should post those one day...

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  38. That was certainly worth five dollars. I think I should extend my travels a bit.

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  39. You find a lot of interesting places in SoCal!

    Nice shots!

    Didnʻt they shoot the first Pee Wee Herman there?

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  40. You do find some crazy things in the desert! That soldier without a weapon isn't doing much to help us against the the invasion of giant reptiles.

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  41. The desert can be dangerous indeed...
    God bless you!
    Cezar

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  42. I love the oddities you find in the desert!

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  43. Alex - Yep! They did look angry! I guess that's why they bite the soldier's hands off...

    Mynx - I think you hit it right on the head. They don't bring in much money, but it doesn't cost much to run.

    Pam - I thing so also. I'm not sure what they eat though!

    Ren - Thanks! I agree, the weirdness is one of the reasons I love the desert. You are right about how things don't really change, but do... I think these dinos (or an earlier version of the) were here when I was much younger.

    TexWisGirl - It was kind of fun. I'm not sure how much fun it was for the one guy working there though.

    Sylvia - Thanks Sylvia! I'm glad you appreciate the words also. I guess I could give some more accurate historical information, but what fun would that be?

    Brian - Thanks Brian! They all look hungry. Maybe for catosauris...

    Kay - Yep! I seem to remember when it was only one or two also.

    Warren - You may be right! And now the poor guy is petrified...

    Leovi - Thanks Leovi! There were kind of realistic. The colors were very nice.

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  44. Ms. A - Yes they are and they just might...

    mshatch - Thanks! For some reason, I didn't want to go inside of it....

    Chuck - Yep, I thought about how annoyed I would have got if there was a bus load of school kids there at the same time I was. I don't know if they come alive at night. If they do maybe the gates lock at a certain time every night. Feeding time!

    marlu - Thanks! They have all manner of oddities in the desert!

    Robyn - Thanks Robyn! It's never a good idea to get too close to a dino...

    Darryl and Ruth - It was interesting in a retro and desperate kind of way. They were pretty amazing. I'm glad I stopped.

    becca - Thanks becca!

    Al - It was a pretty good deal. I almost asked the guy how many customers they had that day.

    Vencora - It'a a couple hundred miles, but there is lots to see out there. Hey, we are just outside of your town this week. Up the 154, in the mountains above Lake Cachuma.

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  45. Ms. A - Yes they are and they just might...

    mshatch - Thanks! For some reason, I didn't want to go inside of it....

    Chuck - Yep, I thought about how annoyed I would have got if there was a bus load of school kids there at the same time I was. I don't know if they come alive at night. If they do maybe the gates lock at a certain time every night. Feeding time!

    marlu - Thanks! They have all manner of oddities in the desert!

    Robyn - Thanks Robyn! It's never a good idea to get too close to a dino...

    Darryl and Ruth - It was interesting in a retro and desperate kind of way. They were pretty amazing. I'm glad I stopped.

    becca - Thanks becca!

    Al - It was a pretty good deal. I almost asked the guy how many customers they had that day.

    Vencora - It'a a couple hundred miles, but there is lots to see out there. Hey, we are just outside of your town this week. Up the 154, in the mountains above Lake Cachuma.

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  46. James - Me too! It might have been there when I was a kid, but I'm not sure.

    Baby Sister - They buy a ticket and are never seen again...

    Rita - I' sure you'd like it also, even if just for the oddness of it. I'll never go again, but I'm glad I went.

    Wayne - I love the also, that's why we spend so much time in the desert.

    Icy - They were a bit scary!

    Talli - They don't belong in the desert, but I can't think of anywhere that they belong in more.

    Betty - Thanks Betty! Lot's of desert to love...

    #1Nana - I love the desert so much that I can't wait until it cools off again there, this year.

    Tom - My pleasure! I'd say it's worth the time spent to check it them out. Oh yeah! I remember loving date shakes as a kid, but they don't do so much for me now. I'll have to try one and see how I like it now.

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  47. Megan - I did not go into the belly of the beast. I thought there might be an insane clown in there or something... I can only imagine how it smelt...

    California Girl - These are just a few of the awesome things to see around Palm Springs. I love that area.

    Leovi - I wished there had been a few more people there that day.

    Pam - Thanks Pam! I'm having a great weekend right now. We're are up in the mountains again (different ones). It'a a beautiful place. Right now I'm bogarding somebody else's internet signal right now. Even my phone is dead.

    Ms. Becky - Thanks! Sometimes in the middle of nowhere, you find everything. Thanks and have a good week!

    Carol - I'm thinking they would have scared a couple of my kids when they were young. A couple others would act like they knew they were fake and aren't afraid of anything!

    Michelle - Nah! I've seen them MANY times, just never stopped. Girl, I'm not even FROM California...

    M.D. - Wow! I'm going to look into this. Did you live in BC when you were young?

    Rosemary - I agree! We spend a lot of time in the desert. That's kind of odd because where we live the weather is so mild all year. The only other place in your list that I agree with is Japan. I've been there several times and am obsessed with it. If I was a younger person, I'd be living there. If, I could get in that is...

    Carly - It's a very cool place to visit. Summer is the "off" season there. It's much too hot. Having said that, I don't see when kids would go then... food for though!

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  48. Francisca - Well, maybe not to die, just to do an odd burlesque for the rest of their existence. No, they are not pretty! You should post those statues...

    Jerry - Oh yeah! It was worth it....once...

    Blue Wave - Thanks! There are so many interesting things to see and do here. The Pee Wee Herman thing rings a bell, but I'm not sure. I'll find out.

    Jeff - I do! Yeah, that guy is going to need some backup... Backup with 10 fingers!

    Cezar - I sure can be! I wouldn't want to see any of these guys out walking around!

    Sally - Thanks Sally! There is plenty out there to find!

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  49. What a hoot, Pat! This place is great! Thanks for these photos. I can't believe the size of those dinosaurs. I'd say it was worth $5! :)

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  50. Awesome! I would love to visit there.

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  51. You have to wonder how places like this stay open. It looks like every little boys dream. My boys loved dinosaurs as kids... this would have been heaven!

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  52. The teeth alone are going to keep be sleepless tonight. Damn realistic creations.

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  53. I love the San Diego river valley, what a vista! Are you writing a travel guide of sorts? You should! ;-)

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