Tips, leads, stories from travelers, plus Roadsideamerica.com Team reports on quirky museums, ironic monuments, and must-see oddities! Trip planning caution: Some tips may not be verified. Over time, attractions change, move, burn down. What's a vacation without a little risk? Submit your own tip.
Results 21 to 25 of 35...[Previous 5 items] Page of 7 [Next 5 items]
- Cabazon, California - Claude Bell's Dinosaurs My family bought the property from the [Claude] Bell Trust about six years ago. We have done quite a bit of development. We own the Denny's Restaurant and there is also a Burger King located on the property. We are hoping to build a full service truck stop and a hotel as soon as we can build a flood wall which is holding up any more development.
An interesting story regarding the maintenance of the dinos: We recently had them painted. It cost a total of one dollar and a case of Dr. Pepper! We worked out a deal with a painting contractor. If we let him paint our dino's he could use them in his advertising brochure. So one dollar and a case of Dr. Pepper later, the dino's look great. Rex has a zig-zag strip down his back and Dinny is painted a color of gray which is pretty real-looking. We are contacting an electrical engineer who is going to put 1,000 watt up-lighting on the dino's so people will see them miles away at night, with red glowing eyes in both.
In our Denny's we pay tribute to the man who built these beauties along with the history and cost of construction. We believe the Bell Family would like knowing their Dad and Grandfather are not forgotten. In a glass enclosure we have several original newspaper articles along with pictures of the dino's while they were under construction.
I was recently in the T-Rex and am thinking we would like to rig him up so he would make the same roar as the T-Rex did in Jurassic Park. The kids will love it. We are also thinking of having a human dummy dangling out of his mouth. Not too scary for the little ones though. Oh yeah, the T-Rex also has a bathroom in him, Pee Wee Herman insisted on one in the T-Rex when he filmed his movie there. [Sherry Minkoff, 02/15/2000]
[RA: More on the Dinosaurs of Cabazon.]Cabazon Dinosaurs:
Address: 50770 Seminole Dr., Cabazon, CA [Show Map]
Directions: I-10, Main Street exit, 13 miles west of Palm Springs.
Admission: $5.
Hours: Daily. - Cabazon, California - Cabazon Dinosaurs Our family completely enjoyed the two dinosaurs! There were liberties taken with the Pee Wee 's Big Adventure movie — but you have to go there to really see for yourself. The dinosaurs have been painted in a more "realistic" lizard way. There is no internal access to the T-Rex. The outside is plenty of fun anyway! The other dinosaur still has a gift shop in its belly and a view into how it was made! Fast food restaurants have begun to spring up around the dinosaurs. The day we were there, the tourists were plenty including a bus of marines from 29 Palms military base. We would say these dinosaurs are still worth a stop! [D&M Harmon and kids, 06/03/1998][RA: Field report on Claude Bell's Dinosaurs]Cabazon Dinosaurs:
Address: 50770 Seminole Dr., Cabazon, CA [Show Map]
Directions: I-10, Main Street exit, 13 miles west of Palm Springs.
Admission: $5.
Hours: Daily. 
Guerneville, California - Pee Wee Golf Not mere putt-putt, this course has apparently been around since the 50s; the new owner took over four year ago and has poured quite a bit of effort into the place. Miniature golf among cement dinosaurs, ghosts and other ... creatures. It's fantastically trippy. Across the street, the defunct Mr. J's Amusements with its Wild Mouse coaster, bumper cars and several carnival rides. Alas, that closed late last year because of escalating insurance costs.
Upper River Road a bit, towards Santa Rosa, is an alleged mutant Muffler Man, peddling canoes and oars alongside the river. [Chris Head, 08/03/2004]
Pee Wee Golf:
Address: 16155 Drake Road, Guerneville, CA [Show Map]
Directions: Drake Road and Hwy. 116, River Lumber Yard, just south of bridge.
Admission: ~$7
Hours: Opens after Easter. (Call to verify)
Phone: 707-869-9321- Half Moon Bay, California - Dinosaurs of Spanish Town On narrow and winding Highway 92, heading west from San Mateo into Half Moon Bay, just before reaching the downtown area, is a place called Spanish Town. In front, along the highway, are a family of huge metal dinosaurs, rusting, but still in good condition. It is well worth the stop. Spanish Town is home to several artists. [Jan Norwood, 10/25/2005]Dinosaurs of Spanish Town:
Address: Hwy 92, Half Moon Bay, CA [Show Map]
Directions: From Highway 101 in San Mateo, head west on Highway 92 until you reach the outskirts of Half Moon Bay. The dinosaurs are on your left. - Littlerock, California - Charlie Brown Farms - Dinosaurs, Meat on a Stick Charlie Brown Farms is my favorite place to stop on the way to Vegas or Laughlin from California. When you hit the tiny town of Pearblossom, on your left you will see a little red building with a big sign that says "Home of the date shake and exotic meats on a stick," with a picture of a bull. There are statues of velociraptors and other dinos.
The main room is full of rare sodas, candies, and goodies -- they have over 125 flavors of milkshakes. There's are gift shops and a statue warehouse. [karlee dash, 05/27/2006]
[RA: It has a House of Dolls and a Village of Gnomes, and claims to be "Antelope Valley's Largest Gift Shop."]Charlie Brown Farms - Dinosaurs, Meat on a Stick:
Address: 8317 Pearblossom Highway, Littlerock, CA [Show Map]
Directions: Southwest of Littlerock, Hwy 138.
Phone: 661-944-2606
[Previous 5 items] Page of 7 [Next 5 items]
