C&T Publications Eye On Fine Art Photography - September 2014 | Page 64

Dinos in the Desert – Cabazon, Ca.
by Cindy Ackley Nunn

There is a place in California that for many years has been the unofficial boundary marker between civilization and the desert.
Children and adults from all over the world have watched for its appearance over the horizon with glee and a bit of wonder.
Families would look upon it with relief, as a place to get out of the car, stretch one's legs, and let the children run around to exert
some excess energy. It is also a place where one can, for a few moments, step way back in time, to a prehistoric era. It is a place of
dinosaurs. As one approaches it becomes a surreal experience to see these giant concrete Goliath creations rising up into the sky
with an air of majesty and awesomeness. They are the Cabazon Dinosaurs, affectionately named Dinny the Apatosaurus (formerly
Brontosaurus) and Mr. Rex the Tyrannosaurus Rex.
In the 1960's Claude Bell, a sculptor for Knott's Berry Farm, needed a unique and creative way to draw customers to his diner called
The Wheel Inn. Its location along Interstate 10 was the perfect place to carry out the kind of crazy idea he came up with... to build
some giant concrete and steel dinosaurs! By the time he was finished he had a 150 ton Apatosaurus and a 100 ton T-Rex occupying
his property. His crazy idea worked and this soon became a “must see” attraction for anyone heading out to the area.
Mr. Bell had a few other ideas in mind on his drawing board, including a Woolly Mammoth and a prehistoric garden, but sadly he
passed away before he could turn these visions into reality. The Wheel House Inn has also closed and now stands shuttered and
abandoned. But, the dinosaurs live in, still drawing in the road weary traveler to sit and rest a spell, and maybe dream of a time
when these giants still roamed the Earth.
This author, while driving home from Joshua Tree with her husband, could not resist making a stop at this fondly remembered place
from her childhood. She is not ashamed to say that it brought a few tears to her eyes as she reminisced about another time when
her parents were alive and had stopped for a few moments to allow her and her brother to run around in joy.
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