Rapid City, South Dakota: Dinosaur of Old Ike Murphy

There's a random dinosaur out in the middle of nowhere. It's a pleasant distraction from miles of Badlands.

Road is blocked off with a "private property - no trespassing" sign, so the dinosaur is barely visible. I wouldn't recommend going out of your way to see it at this point.

Stopped to get a closer look. Part of his tail is falling off and there are some cracks, but he looks pretty good otherwise. There is an old bridge to nowhere next to him over a little river.

I was driving down Highway 44 when I saw a lonely dinosaur. There is a field entrance near him that I pulled into to take the photo. I didn't get extremely close, but he appeared to still be in good shape.

I noticed this sole Brontosaurus about eight years ago, run-down and looking his age (built during the Depression, probably by the same folks who erected Dinosaur Park in Rapid City). He had crumbling holes showing his re-bar skeleton, and was covered in graffiti. This summer I went by him again and was pleased to find he's been restored, complete with bicycle reflectors for eyes and mouth (there's even a plaque commemorating the makeover). I'm still not sure why he's there in the first place.