More from SoCal Wanderer
5 Monumental Rocks in Southern California
Six Great Californian Castles
5 Great Places to Explore Native California
1 of 3
next
I hate to disappoint you, but if you're looking for signs of Southern California's prehistoric dinosaurs, you're probably not going to find much.
At least, they won't be the dinosaurs you may be thinking of, like the T. Rex and Triceratops. After all, we've got lots of their closest living descendant - that is, birds.
You see, some 70 or 80 million years ago - when dinosaurs were still alive - California was still underwater. The ancient sea may have been shallow - and receding - but it didn't leave much for today's paleontologists to find.
I know you're going to protest, but it's true. Even the great beasts in the Natural History Museum's Dinosaur Hall are mostly from Utah, Montana, Wyoming, and beyond.
La Brea Tar Pits? Actually, since the Page Museum and its tar pit site focus on mammals of the Ice Age, they have no dinosaur bones - just mammoths and saber-toothed cats and such.
But there are some great places in Southern California where you can join more recent (but still retro) versions of the extinct creatures for a roadside adventure. Here are six of them:
--
--
1. Cabazon Dinosaurs, Cabazon
When you mention Southern California roadside dinosaurs, everybody talks about the giant ones in Cabazon, which have been clearly visible off the north side of the 10 Freeway for over 30 years, and were famously featured in the movie Pee Wees Big Adventure. There's a three-story concrete T. Rex and a 150-foot-long Apatosaurus that were built by theme park artist Claude Bell (of Knott's Berry Farm fame) to attract customers to his restaurant next door, The Wheel Inn diner. Unfortunately, The Wheel Inn closed back in 2013 - and while the World's Biggest Dinosaurs attraction lives on, it's as a creationist museum masquerading as an amusement park and gift shop. If you're OK with denouncing the theory of evolution for a few minutes while you visit, it's worth a pit stop and a visit inside the dinos (for a small fee) - even just for the photo opp.
Photo: Courtesy of Sandi Hemmerlein
2. Jurupa Mountains Discovery Center, Riverside
Another, larger herd of extinct beasts is off the side of another road: this time just north of the 60 freeway, and just west of Riverside in the Inland Empire. It's not quite the desert, but it's close. Unlike the dinos in Cabazon, these bad boys play hard to get. Some of them have been hiding up there for over 50 years, waiting for you to find them. Although there are more than ten dinosaur sculptures, only a couple of them are near the entrance - so you've got to walk through some of the botanical gardens (of which there are nine acres) and up the Dinosaur Trail to find your own private Jurassic Park. The lumbering souls seem gentle, and almost fragile - some even handmade out of burlap, styrofoam, and household glue, making them more like folk art than your typical big roadside statue. Take some time to walk the trails and peruse the dinosaur eggs in the museum, and try to catch the sunset from up top.
Photo: Courtesy of Sandi Hemmerlein
Photo: Courtesy of Sandi Hemmerlein
3. Dinosaur Swampland, Apple Valley
At first it just looks like any other abandoned lot with an RV parked in it; but upon closer inspection, it actually appears to be some kind of post-apocalyptic wonderland where people coexisted with dinosaurs. In truth, this was the site of a would-be childrens amusement park called Dinosaur Swampland. By the mid-1970s, there were at least 36 dinosaurs across four acres on a 17-acre parcel owned by retiree Lonnie Coffman, originally of Van Nuys. He formed the standing ones out of stucco wire (which looks a lot like chicken wire), which he covered in cement and then stuccoed over - giving them kind of a greenish hue that the sun has since bleached out of most of them. He made the ones lying on the ground, however, by covering molded dirt in poured concrete. Coffman had built the menagerie as a kind of public art piece on his own property, but because of insurance issues and property taxes and other bureaucracy, he could never really get it off the ground as a miniature golf course. The site is currently abandoned and crumbling, and full of broken glass, beehives, and rattlesnakes. Somebody must own that plot of land, so it's best to admire the dinos from the street, and enter only with permission.
Photo: Courtesy of Sandi Hemmerlein
Photo: Courtesy of Sandi Hemmerlein
4. Peggy Sue's Diner-Saur Park, Yermo
Yermo, whose name is derived from the Spanish word meaning wilderness, is an exit off of the 15 freeway on your way to or from Vegas, but instead of bringing traffic to the town, the construction of the freeway allowed travelers to pass right by it. Once a thriving town of places to get gas, something to eat and drink, and to stay the night, many of the businesses closed, leaving a few residents, a Marine base storage unit, the Burger Barn, and Peggy Sues 50s Diner. A classic and original 50s diner, Peggy Sues was built in 1954 out of railroad ties and mortar from the nearby Union Pacific rail yard. Appropriately enough for its Calico-adjacent location, it was purchased by another former Knotts Berry Farm employee and reopened in 1987. Since then, it has remained merely an oddity - an eccentric roadside attraction that, although worth the detour, gets overlooked. Peggy Sues is just so emblematic of the desert dream: to provide something where there is nothing, shelter for those who are lost, food and drink for those hungry and thirsty, whimsy and entertainment amidst desolation and drought. Its a little slice of comfort pie. And it delights.
Photo: Courtesy of Sandi Hemmerlein
Photo: Cou
Most recent headlines
04/08/2024
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, is excited to announce Santiago Solanas as its new Chief Executive Officer (CEO)....
03/06/2024
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, a...
04/05/2024
NEW YORK As the Asian Pacific American Heritage Month kicks off in May, Nielsen has released an extensive new report diving into their media habits with data sh...
04/05/2024
PHILADELPHIA As National Military Appreciation Month gets underway, Comcast has announced several new initiatives to help veterans, service members, and their f...
04/05/2024
WASHINGTON, D.C. Federal Communications Commission chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel has announced a tentative agenda for the May Open Commission Meeting scheduled...
04/05/2024
The Broadband Forum has announced major enhancements to key 5G convergence standards that the group said will help advance next-generation applications, improve...
04/05/2024
Spotify Wrapped Campaign Spot Graded With DaVinci Resolve Studio
Brie Clayton May 3, 2024
0 Comments
Blackmagic Design today announced that Colorist M...
04/05/2024
Three Boston Conservatory at Berklee Alums Nominated for Tony Awards An additional eight alums and two current students performed in nominated productions.
...
03/05/2024
An innovative learning tool to help media and civil society better understand ho...
03/05/2024
PARK CITY, UTAH - JANUARY 21: (L-R) Actors K stutis Cic nas and Greta Grinevi i t , Director Marija Kavtaradze and Producer Marija Razgute attend the 2023 Sunda...
03/05/2024
If you aren't familiar with Danny Ocean's music, it's only a matter ...
03/05/2024
Spotify has an unwavering commitment to supporting emerging artists across all genres, to helping them launch and thrive in their careers, and to connecting the...
03/05/2024
Como uno de los sonidos de mayor expansi n en el mundo, la M sica Mexicana va m ...
03/05/2024
As one of the fastest-growing sounds worldwide, M sica Mexicana is more than jus...
03/05/2024
NEW YORK FuboTV reported that it lost 110,000 subs in Q1 2024 but it exceeded its guidance for the quarter with double digit year-over-year increases across key...
03/05/2024
Only 3 Weeks Left To Enter The Creative Industries Most Award
Brie Clayton May 3, 2024
0 Comments
Creativepool is giving a last call to the creative i...
03/05/2024
WePlay Studios Transforms the Future of Live Event Storytelling with AJA Gear
Brie Clayton May 3, 2024
0 Comments
By 2032, the esports market is expec...
03/05/2024
WASHINGTON Shannon Bream, Fox News Sunday anchor and chief legal correspondent, sat for a keynote chat at The Business of TV News, with Tom Umstead, senior co...
03/05/2024
WASHINGTON Asked how important is local news, Martha Raddatz, who has covered foreign conflicts for decades and moderated presidential debates for ABC News, s...
03/05/2024
Sony Pictures and Apollo Global Management have made a $26 billion cash offer fo...
03/05/2024
CBS announced its 2024-2025 primetime schedule, which features the new dramas NCIS: Origins, Matlock and Watson, and new comedies Poppa's House and Georgie ...
03/05/2024
Sports-focused streaming service Fubo said it reduced its red ink in the first quarter, despite losing 110,000 subscribers since the end of the year....
03/05/2024
Walmart is reportedly about to release a new 4K streaming box/smart speaker hybrid device for Google TV that could retail for as low as $50, according to a repo...
03/05/2024
Enhancements to its Delivery Workspace solution provide increased content delivery robustness and security
By Matthew Corrigan
Published: May 3, 2024
Enha...
03/05/2024
According to reports, if the bid is successful, Sony would be the significant majority shareholder of the new private company
By Jenny Priestley
Published: M...
03/05/2024
Located in Manchesters Spinningfields district, the course aims to equip students with the skills, knowledge and industry insight for a career in the creative s...
03/05/2024
Lightbridge has created a new Cine Reflect Lighting System kit, dedicated to enabling artistic lighting with consideration of today's productivity practical...
03/05/2024
Broadcast media systems integrator BeckTV and Lawo worked together on a large-scale AES67 build of radio control rooms at KPBS, San Diego's NPR and PBS memb...
03/05/2024
Raleigh, NC, April 12, 2024 SmallHD announces PageOS 6, a powerful software update free for owners of SmallHD monitors, featuring increased functionality, exp...
03/05/2024
SmallHD announces the Quantum 32 a new 31.5 OLED monitor designed to provide reference HDR/SDR images for post-production final color grading, as well as cri...
03/05/2024
By 2032, the esports market is expected to grow to $9.29 billion, bolstered by a global player count and fan following that both continue to climb. The 2023 Lea...
03/05/2024
Amagi, the global leader in cloud-based SaaS technology for broadcast and connected TV (CTV), today announced that the 11th edition of the Amagi Global FAST Rep...
03/05/2024
Riedel Communications today announced that Westdeutscher Rundfunk (WDR) is relying on a media and intercom network based on Riedel technology for the renewal of...
03/05/2024
Broadpeak , a leading provider of content delivery network (CDN) and video streaming solutions for content providers and pay-TV operators worldwide, announced t...
03/05/2024
Media technology innovator Limecraft will exhibit the latest updates to its online platform on stand G79 at the 15-16 May 2024 Media Production & Technology Sho...
03/05/2024
Audio interface specialist Prism Sound is partnering with console manufacturer Solid State Logic, professional monitor manufacturer PMC and acoustic panel and d...
03/05/2024
Intinor, Sweden's leading developer of products and solutions for high-quality video over the internet, is set to join forces with its UK partner Zest Techn...
03/05/2024
NAKIVO Inc., a fast-growing software company dedicated to protecting physical, virtual, cloud, and SaaS environments, announced its Q1 2024 financial results to...
03/05/2024
Hiltron Communications announces an addition to its range of satellite communication products and systems: a field-upgradable motorisation kit specifically desi...
03/05/2024
Visit LiveU at Stand D30
With this year an exceptional one for major sporting events alongside multiple, key elections, the power and flexibility of LiveU'...
03/05/2024
Agile Content, the leader in the development of technology and solutions for the provision of television services over the Internet, announces Koldo Unanue as i...
03/05/2024
Eight co-signers representing streaming services, pay TV operators and public interest groups have sent a letter to Congressional leaders urging their Committee...
03/05/2024
BOSTON Brightcove has announced that it has implemented Amazon Q Business, a new generative AI assistant on Amazon Web Services (AWS)....
03/05/2024
NEW YORK CBS has declared that it will finish the 2023-24 season as Americas Most-Watched Network in primetime for the 16th consecutive season....
03/05/2024
A new survey indicates that U.S. businesses and consumers had an overall positive attitude towards their technology spending plans in the first quarter of 2024,...
03/05/2024
Sony and Apollo Global Management have sent an offer letter to Paramount Global's board of directors making an $26 billion all cash offer for Paramount Glob...
03/05/2024
EMG / Gravity Media has appointed Charlie Cubbon chief operating officer (COO) and Jamie Hindhaugh regional CEO for the U.K., U.S., Australia and the Middle Eas...
03/05/2024
Final 2024 Season Games to Air Saturdays on WRAL at 10:30am in May, Championship on June 1
Taping for the final episodes of the 2024 season of WRAL-TV's Br...
03/05/2024
Estrella MediaCo said it is expanding its connected TV portfolio by launching three new channels with Curiosity that will first appear on Samsung TV Plus....
More from SoCal Wanderer 
