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
- By Brian Switek
- Smithsonian.com, September 07, 2012
(Reader, 'deep )
This is a Dinosaur Sighting first: One of the photos we shared on this blog inspired the creation of another public dinosaur.
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!
Vote for the dino you like best, now!
Think you've come across any dinos in your travels worth sharing? You can send your submissions to dinosaursightings@gmail.com.
Comments (5)
Hello Brian Switek, I was surprised to see no mention of Dinosaur World in Plant City Florida. It is not merely a single dinosaur used to attract attention to a road-side store et al, but rather it is an entire theme park devoted to dinosaurs of all types and sizes. As far as I know is it the largest Dinosaur themed park in the world and, in my humble opinion, should have received top billing in your review, as it is a very active and well maintained park devoted to dinosaurs...
Posted by Lawrence on March 4,2013 | 12:30 PM
Trixie" in all her 'arbored beauty is perhaps the most original one in the lot...loved all the others too--second choice the wrinkled-one who must have been the predecessor to the shar-pei.
Posted by dr. s.j. robinson on September 15,2012 | 01:38 PM
Up until now, I respected your publication, but with your "sponsored link" to Money Morning's inflammatory and baseless article about Obamacare, I will not be purchasing anything again or reading any more of your emails.
Posted by Tobi Tabor on September 9,2012 | 02:08 PM
There are some seriously obscure/fun Dino's here, but there's a missing set: The Prehistoric Gardens in Oregon. Unforgettable!
Posted by Ed Casper on September 9,2012 | 12:49 PM
Although the one with lipstick and pearls was cute, I'd have to go with the one that "eats union soldiers" as my favorite.
Posted by jim scott on September 9,2012 | 08:18 AM