Dinoland Dan
@dinolanddan
Certified fossil. Amateur historian for Dinoland, USA. Archiving facts, photos, and stories; always accepting submissions, no matter how small. Other interests include Route 66, tiki, and classic Americana.
Bluesky’s compression obliterated this video so badly that it became a pretty mosaic
I first learned about The Madonna Inn on this History Channel special I taped 30 years ago (👴🏻) and it permanently imprinted on me
(2/2) William Stout’s work in The Dinosaurs is so, SO good. It’s like a beautiful blend of a Mesozoic Mucha and Arthur Rackham. Stout’s work was found throughout DinoLand, USA, from the exit signs outside Dinosaur to the inside of Restaurantosaurus. 🦖
McKay’s delivered some incredible dinosaur finds this weekend: 1. I loved the Prehysteria! series as a child, and the weird golf plotline in the third one made it my favorite, so glad to have it on VHS 2. Rex Appeal is an incredible title 3. William Stout’s work (1/2)
I can’t make it to Epcot this 4th of July, but I did get to celebrate with a geodesic sphere that opened in 1982 that anchored a World’s Fair
It’s a good one! Watched it before driving Route 66, since you can see the (former) sites of so many of the old Harvey Houses along the western leg of the road
I was in bed when mine went off wheeeeee For anyone that hasn’t shared this beloved experience:
can I please, please, for the love of gosh, DM a picture to a mutual
Seeker may be gone, but he’ll never leave our hearts 🥹 I haven’t worked in clay since college, and getting back in has been a steep learning curve. (Also had to quit social media because I have no focus) But I’m so happy to have completed it and contribute to the ParkStop campaign!!
You know them from Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure. I know them from Gary Owen’s & Eric Boardman’s More Dinosaurs special. We are not the same. I don’t even remember a time when I wasn’t begging visit these guys; I can’t overstate how much how big a dream this was for me. Dinoland lives!
It was a dream come true to visit the Cabazon Dinosaurs! Built to attract visitors to the nearby Wheel Inn (which closed in 2013), Dinney and Mr. Rex aren’t directly on #Route66, but are quintessentially roadside California. You can even go inside them!
I’ve stayed at the one in Holbrook on a prior trip, very nice owners. You may recognize these as the inspiration for the Cozy Cone Motel in Pixar’s Cars
The frenetic descent into San Bernardino leads to the classic #Route66 accommodation known as the Wigwam Motel. 7 tepee-shaped motor courts were built in the ‘30s and ‘40s (including one in Orlando on OBT), today only 3 survive: here, on Route 66 in Holbrook, AZ, & Cave City, KY.
#Route66 between Barstow and San Bernardino is heavily trafficked, but Elmer’s Bottle Tree Ranch is a must-stop. Begun in 2000 after collecting bottles from across the desert, today hundreds of bottle trees stand tall, creating a kinetic kaleidoscope of colored glass.
Further up #Route66 is the Bagdad Cafe, found in Newberry Springs, not Bagdad. It starred in the 1987 cult film of the same name. Despite being a German film, the guy there told us 80% of visitors are French; sure enough, French motorcyclists rode up when we left.
Picking up just West of Amboy, we find a town that didn’t get saved along #Route66: Bagdad. Once a railroad station along the Santa Fe line, it disappeared after being bypassed by I-40, and now all that remains is a sign and a single tree.
It 100% does, and just a couple miles away is…the Amboy Crater! Not actually a crater, but a very defined cone volcano. And in Arizona is a fun place called Meteor City (closed by the time we made it out there)
After Amboy, we took a journey off #Route66 into nearby Twentynine Palms and Joshua Tree National Park. Stayed in the tranquil oasis known as the 29 Palms Inn.
You may recognize Roy’s from dozens of places: movies (the slasher film Cluck was filming there today!), music videos, and this (prescient) late ‘90s ad for the telecom Qwest.
Albert Okura, owner of the Juan Pollo restaurant chain, purchased Amboy in 2005. He restored Roy’s and it is now a functioning gas and souvenir station. Though he passed in 2023, his son Kyle plans to fully restore the motel portion too.
Amboy blossomed with Route 66, gaining a school, church, post office, motel, train station, gas station, and airport (???). In 1959, Roy’s motel, gas station, and cafe opened in all its Googie glory. But, when I-40 opened, the town evaporated.
Yesterday was spent in the 109° barrens of the Mojave, which means we’ve crossed into the final state on #Route66: California! Roy’s in Amboy (population: zero) is famous for being the ONLY thing around. It’s also EXTREMELY cool.
Your reward for surviving Sitgreaves Pass is the living ghost town of Oatman. Wild West themed shows and shops line the old town. Its main draw are the wild donkeys that wander the town; they have the run of the place, and you can feed them ( just don’t get too close).