Road Trip Post #20: Dinosaur Park & The Black Hills Institute

Dinosaur Park, Rapid City, South Dakota

   Dinosaurs. A huge part of my childhood. It might have had to do with the giant green ones on the hill overlooking the town where I grew up. Pretty much everywhere you drive in Rapid City, South Dakota you're in view of one of these concrete dinos - especially the big brontosaurus. They never seemed particularly lifelike to me, even as a kid - they were made back in the 1930s when they thought dinosaurs were just big, slow, smiley (apparently), cold-blooded, lizards. I don't even think the brontosaurs is called a brontosaurus anymore! 

Despite the small inaccuracies of these big guys (OK some are large at this point), they still had quite an impact on me. They sparked my imagination. I mean, who has dinosaurs overlooking their town?!?! They continue amazing kiddos and to be honest, I'm both glad & surprised they are still around. Admission is free, the gift store has lots of souvenirs, and they even serve a pretty cheap lunch. It also gets a blue dot on my map of American West dinosaur attractions - I hope to take a future road trip hitting all of the dino hotspots…Roar.

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The Museum At the Black Hills Institute

   We also sort of stumbled upon the Museum at the Black Hills Institute. This is the home of Stan, one of the most complete male T-rex skeletons in the world. This was also the center of a huge debate, lawsuit, auction, craziness over Sue - one of the most complete female T-rex skeletons. She eventually found a home with the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago. The museum is not that big but definitely worth a visit. Double roar!
   ~Paul, Micah, Sis   ETC
Links:
Read the crazy story of the T-Rex named Sue
The Black Hills Institute in Hill City, SD
Dinosaur Park
Some of the best dino-photography around