Cabazon - Dinosaurs! - California

CaliforniaRoad TripiPhone PhotographyExploratographyRoadside AttractionsCabazonDinosaurs

Nov 5

If you’ve ever taken the 10 out to Palm Springs, or Arizona or anywhere past the Morongo Casino over the last 50 years, you’ve probably seen the giant Brontosaurus watching you as you sped past at 90 mph. And then, he was joined by another favorite dino - the Tyranosaurus Rex. Why T-Rex hasn’t eaten the Bronto over all these years is a really good question.

So what’s up with these supposedly “extinct” dinosaurs, and why are they hanging out in Cabazon? That’s another great question.

Well, you’ve got this amazing sculptor, Claude K. Bell, who has been working at Knott’s Berry Farm for many years, creating many of the “Bench People” you see around Ghost Town. He also happens to really, really like dinosaurs.

His Jurassic creations began in the 1960s, as a means to attract customers to his Wheel Inn Cafe, which opened in 1958 (a great year) and closed in 2013. He started with Dinny the Dinosaur in 1964, a 150-ton, concrete brontosaurus made from salvaged steel and cement from a freeway flash flood. After creating the steel framework, he covered it with an expanded metal grid, wrapped it in wire and then sprayed the wire with shotcrete.

Mr. Rex weighs in at only 100 tons, he was completed in 1986. Total cost on the pair was in the neighborhood of $300,000.

Back in the day, that stretch of the 10 was pretty desolate, and the two dinosaurs could be seen for miles in either direction.

The current owners keep the dinosaurs spiffy, with different colors for Dinny and different outfits now and then for Mr. (Santa) Rex. As you can see in the above photo, they’re ready for Christmas!

If you stop by to visit, which I highly recommend you do, go inside Dinny and check out the gift shop. It’s free and they have a bunch of cool dino-stuff inside.

You can also climb up inside Mr. Rex and look out at the world through his sharp teeth! However, to be able to do this you do have to purchase admission to Cabazon Dinosaur Park. And it’s fully worth the cost of admission. Inside the park, a path winds through the grounds and dinosaurs of every type are everywhere. Signs give the names of most of them, but if you take your kids, they’ll probably know the names already. Several interactive activities for the kids and a gift shop at the end. Clean restrooms as well.

Definitely worth a stop, especially if you enjoy quirky roadside attractions. And more so if you like dinosaurs. Just taking some pics with Dinny and Mr. Rex will be an awesome stop, and if you have the time to go inside the park (I think the adult price is $18, not sure what the kid’s price is), do it. Here’s a link to their SITE.