Sunday, July 12, 2009

Dinosaur Land

Our first side trip of the day was to Dinosaur Land. This is classic roadside america. Tons of dinosaurs made of concrete and spray painted. We all of loved it. 662 miles





This classic dinosaur park remains frozen in time, or at least faithful to the original vision of Joseph Geraci, who opened it over 40 years ago. Geraci was reportedly impressed by the fiberglass dinosaurs at a putt-putt golf course in Florida, and reasoned that prehistoric monsters would work just as well outside of his Rebel Corner gift shop in Virginia.

Geraci started dinosaur creation in the mid-1960s, and quickly realized that they should be the main attraction of his place. He renamed his place "Dinosaur Land" in large letters that resembled California's "Disneyland" sign, and added a toothy dinosaur mouth photo-op entrance (like the gaping jaws outside of Florida's Gatorland). These earliest incarnations still stand, along with a purplish Apatosaurus and an orange-green T. rex that skulks beside the highway, enticing travelers to pull over for a quick devouring.

1 comment: