Cabazon Dinosaurs
Monday, January 23, 2012 at 9:23AM 
Time waits for no man - or in this case, no man, and no dinosaurs. Among other places, I grew up in Southern California, and while growing up, I made a fair number of trips out to the desert with my parents. One of my favorite things about heading out to the desert was that part of the I-10 after Beaumont where the freeway crests a slight hill, and you can see for miles down into the valley where the windmills churn before Palm Springs. At that point, day or night, the main thing you could see breaking the desert panorama were the larger than life shapes of two dinosaurs resting comfortably. In my head, I could picture them lumbering off into the distant hills, or chasing cars full of tourists like myself looking for an easy meal. If you stopped there, the parking lot was full of eager, chattering people, and a lot of over-exuberiant kids. After all, what kid didn't like dinosaurs - or venturing into a dinosaur's belly?
That was then, and this is now. Today, the dinosaurs - Mr. Rex and Dinny - are obscured behind a Burger King, and some other restaurant, and not so visible from the I-10 East. The ownership of the dinosaurs has also changed - as has the message - to a creationist viewpoint of how the Earth and its creatures has been created. Full disclosure here: I'm a firm believer in evolution; but aside from that, it seems wrong to me to use these fanciful creatures to promote a political message - but maybe that's just my nostalgia talking. In any case, the combination - new ownership; behind a fast food restaurant has made it seem more desolate and different to me than what I recollect from my memories "back in the day". Nevertheless, how can you pass it up if you're in the area? It's right off the I-10 in Cabazon, so you can't miss it.
See you under the dino's feet!
More Information: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cabazon_Dinosaurs, http://www.yelp.com/biz/cabazon-dinosaurs-cabazon
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