On 11/5/2015, the Los Angeles Times (
visit link) ran the following story (perhaps rerunning a story from a reporter from the South Florida Sun-Sentinel):
"Roadtrip: The Cabazon dinosaurs
Gunnar Johnson
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
2015 marks the 30th anniversary of one of the crowning achievements in cinematic history. No, not "Out of Africa," "The Color Purple," or even "Back to the Future." I'm referring to "Pee Wee's Big Adventure," the epic story of an eccentric bowtie-wearing man/child on a surreal cross-country quest to find his stolen bicycle. It stars Paul Reubens, was co-written by Saturday Night Live's Phil Hartman and was Tim Burton's feature film directing debut.
Two large concrete dinosaurs known as the Cabazon dinosaurs are 13 miles west of Palm Springs in Cabazon, Calif., and figure prominently in a scene where Pee Wee and Simone spend an evening together and are then chased by Simone's jealous boyfriend, Andy.
Claude K. Bell created the dinosaurs to attract attention to his Wheel Inn Cafe at the Cabazon exit off of Interstate 10. Construction began on the first dinosaur, "Dinny," the one that looks like the Sinclair gas logo, in 1964 and was eventually completed 11 years later. The second dinosaur, "Mr. Rex," was completed in 1981. Dinny has a gift shop inside of him, and the inside of
Mr. Rex can also be toured (Pee Wee and Simone looked out from inside his open mouth). Mr. Bell died in 1988 and the dinosaurs' current owners have spruced up the place with some nice landscaping and a parking lot.
The current owners have also added a twist that puts them in the eccentric roadside attractions Hall of Fame: a dinosaur park with a creationism theme. They are "Young Earth" followers, believing most dinosaurs were created on Earth 6,000 years ago to coincide with Adam and Eve and the Garden of Eden. The Dinny gift shop has dioramas of both an evolutionist (Mr. Bell's originals) and creationist nature. And their website features a statement doubting Darwin's theory of evolution by Republican presidential candidate and Florida resident Dr. Ben Carson.
Think it's crazy to love a place like this? In the immortal words of Mr. Herman, "I know you are, but what am I?"
The Cabazon dinosaurs are located off Interstate 10 exit 106 at 50770 Seminole Drive in Cabazon.
Gunnar Johnson, a Sun Sentinel designer, is the author of Eccentric Roadside, eccentricroadside.blogspot.com, a blog featuring unusual roadside sights."