Civil War Soldiers vs. Dinosaurs Tourist Site!

[CalMeacham]

I stumbled across this on Roadside America. Occasionally I am dumbfounded by what people will do:

Here, people live with dinosaurs – but only until the dinosaurs eat them.
…As the tour begins, visitors are asked to imagine themselves in 1863. A family of Virginia paleontologists has accidentally dug a mine shaft into a hidden valley of living dinosaurs. Unfortunately, the Union Army has tagged along, hoping to kidnap the big lizards and use them as “weapons of mass destruction” against the South…What you see along the path of Dinosaur Kingdom is a series of tableaus depicting the aftermath of this ill-advised military strategy. As you enter, a lunging, bellowing T-Rex head lets you know that the dinosaurs are mad – and they only get madder. A big snake has eaten one Yankee, and is about to eat another. An Allasaurus grabs a bluecoat off of his rearing horse while a second soldier futilely tries to lasso the big lizard. Another Yankee crawls up a tree with a stolen egg while the mom dinosaur batters it down.

[CalMeacham]

Dang! Forgot the web address again:

(Old) Dinosaur Kingdom (Closed), Natural Bridge, Virginia

[twickster]

It’s shit like that that makes me proud to be an American.

Seriously.

[Faruiza]

THAT. Is some super good roadside shit there, my friend.
Seriously. I LOVE stuff like that.

[Ike_Witt]

If I were passing by there on a road trip, I would so stop and visit that place.

[Shagnasty]

That is really great. Think about the nice family from New Jersey that gets talked into seeing some “dinosaurs” by their kids as they drive South.

I can see that inspiring a whole new genre of books and websites.

[Push_You_Down]

… That’s the coolest thing ever.

If you don’t love it… you might as die because your imagination already has.

[blondebear]

I drove past there in 2004, but it wasn’t open at the time. His house/workshop is right on the road, and there were some interesting, and rather creepy, critters out front. I did see “Foamhenge”, though–that was pretty cool. All of this stuff is right near Natural Bridge…a worthwhile stop for any road-tripper in search of iconic tourist-traps.

[lno]

Mark explains that he had originally wanted the dinosaurs to attack Pancho Villa and his troops at the turn of the 20th century, but then decided against it. “I was really looking for some villains,” he explained. “The Pancho Villa thing – nobody remembers that.” Which is true. Instead, Mark’s substitution of Union soldiers seems certain to win him favor, at least locally. “I mean, for Christ’s sake, people still fight the Civil War down here,” he said. “I would gladly have changed the color of the uniforms – if I was from the North.”

Now that’s comedy.

[Hal_Briston]

@Shagnasty

That is really great. Think about the nice family from New Jersey that gets talked into seeing some “dinosaurs” by their kids as they drive South.

They’d pass right by. Jersians are beyond used to wierd roadside shit.

Still, that’s pretty damn cool…

[Scissorjack]

Why has no-one given this man large quantities of money for the rights to make a movie out of this?

[Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor]

It has to be Cheap Hallucinogens.

Of course, it is cool–but it still has to be Cheap Hallucinogens.

[Papermache_Prince]

This theme park answers the question - what would happen if Shelby Foote had written Turok, Son of Stone?

[ivylass]

@adam yax

If I were passing by there on a road trip, I would so stop and visit that place.

When we went to Tennesse (Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge area) I HAD to stop by the Salt and Pepper Museum.

There’s some stuff so hokey you just have to see it.

[Kent_Clark]

I hope U.S. Grant rides in and get all the dinosaurs drunk.

[SteveG1]

I thought it was great, and if I ever get out that way, I will make a point of seeing it. Great stuff.

[saoirse]

@Papermache Prince

This theme park answers the question - what would happen if Shelby Foote had written Turok, Son of Stone?

Or The Land of the Lost

[Wolfian]

So if gay marriage is ever legalized will the guy switch from Union soliders to Nazis?

[LucyInDisguise]

You want weird?

Here it is …

First time I drove by this place I thought it was a junkyard.

Second time, too.

Third trip I finally noticed the Monument sign. Thought: since when do they turn junkyards into Monuments? (Not to be confused with monumental junkyards …)

Finally stopped and looked around on the fourth trip.

What d’ya know …

It is a junkyard!

(To be fair, the description at the first link above does not do the Monument justice. Second link is the official webpage. Here is another page with links to better pictures and descriptions of the Monument, as well as the history behind it all. BTW, if you are ever driving through Nevada on I-80 and find yourself about 40 miles west of Winnemucca with a few minutes to kill, this is a really cool place to spend some time!)

Lucy