A true homegrown treasure awaits those who decide to cut east or west between Highway 59 and Highway 169 via Route 47. About a mile west of Highway 59, a local family has created their own Jurassic Park. A herd of metal dinosaurs roam and graze on their property, delighting people like me.
Finally, after driving past the site two days a week while working on an assignment in Independence, I couldn't take it anymore and pulled in across the road. (Note: Be careful! Depending on what time of day it is, this highway is busy!). Standing on the roadbank, I took these photos. It didn't look like anyone was home, so I stayed on the highway side of the property line. Next spring I want to introduce myself and hopefully get close ups of this amazing artistic wonderland. I believe most of these critters are made of cast-off oil rig parts. If you know differently, please leave a comment.
An Apatosaurus grazes in the trees. The mobile home in the background gives you some scale. Even so, I can't describe how huge this sculpture is.
While the big dinosaurs are occupied, the smaller ones roam and sun themselves.
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Terri, what an awesome find. Very ingenious to build dinosaurs out of oil rig parts. Have a great day searching out the hidden treasures of Kansas.
The creativity of some people truly amazes me. Who would have thought dinosaurs when looking at a heap of scrap metal. Very cool....and realistic looking. I wonder if people driving by after dusk do a double take seeing these creatures in the moonlight. I probably would!
An addition to my post. I went to Google Maps to make sure I had the crossroads correct and found the site. Some of the sculptures are so big, the satellite photo caught the shadows they cast. I posted the satellite imagery at my blog: http://readinrittinrhetoric.blogspot.com/2012/11/dinosaur-sculpture-park.html