The Black Hills Travel Blog

RC Dinos make ‘Weird America’ list

By Dan • Jun 5th, 2008 • Category: Uncategorized

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Hunter Thompson said that when the going gets weird, the weird turn pro. And when it comes to weird roadside attractions, the Black Hills of South Dakota have always been, at the least, semi-pro.

Where else can you see live alligators, live kangaroos, giant Jackalopes, stuffed and mounted horses, singing cowboy robots and buildings that defy gravity? Or giant plaster presidents, wax presidents, bronze presidents and presidents carved in cheese (OK, I made that last one up)? You can even see chickens that play tic-tac-toe – and win every game. (I think they cheat.)

Now, Rapid City’s Dinosaur Park has gained national fame as one of MSN City Guide’s 12 “Weird America” attractions.

The park, built as a WPA project in the 1930s, stands atop a hill in the middle of Rapid City. It has five of the life-sized concrete critters. You can see the brontosaurus from just about anywhere in town.

Dinosaur Park is actually a fun place. The view of Rapid City is wonderful, and kids love to climb around on the dinos. Besides that, it’s free.

And now it’s famous. At least to the readers of the MSN website.

Also on the list: “Carhenge” – my personal favorite — near Alliance, Neb. It’s a replica of the Britain’s Stonehenge, but it’s made of junk cars painted gray.

Among the other American weirdities on the MSN site are the world’s largest six-pack, the Jimmy Carter Peanut (Plains, Ga.), the Spud Drive-In (Boise, Idaho), the Neon Sign Graveyard (Las Vegas), Lucy the Elephant (Atlantic City), the World’s Largest Ball of Twine (Cawker City, Kans.)

I’m sure the MSN list is not complete. Feel free to add your own weird roadside attractions.

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About the Author

Dan is an on-again, off-again Black Hills resident since 1978. The Aberdeen native hit the road after high school, building houses in Boulder, working oil rigs on Colorado's Western Slope, delivering cars in California. In Wyoming and Idaho, he worked as a newspaper journalist. But the Black Hills kept luring him back. For 18 years, he wrote for the Rapid City Journal. The job gave him a chance to see the Hills from atop Mount Rushmore and the bottom of the Homestake Mine. Whenever possible, Dan grabs his dog Kody and heads to the Hills. These days, he's perfecting the art of low-impact backpacking: hike two hours to a scenic spot, break out the wine, cook up the pasta, watch the sunset and fall asleep under the stars.
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