Ranger Rick's Wild ROAD TRIP - Brief Article

Ranger Rick, July, 2000 by Gerry Bishop

It's a wild and wacky world out there! Want to see for yourself? Then come meet some of the giant creatures lurking by roadsides all across America.

Lots of people put up signs along roads to grab our attention. But some people think bigger than others. They go crazy and create something that really makes us put on the brakes.

CABAZON, CALIFORNIA

Pull off of Interstate 10 in the desert town of Cabazon, and what do you see? Two giant concrete dinosaurs! One is the six-story-tall Tyrannosaurus rex on the other side of this page. A giant green apatosaur named Dinny is right nearby. Dinny's belly is so big that there's room for a dinosaur museum and store inside! Next to the two dinos is the Wheel-Inn Cafe. The owners hope everyone who stops here has a dino-sized appetite!

WORLD'S LARGEST KILLER BEE

HIDALGO, TEXAS

Ten years ago, aliens invaded this town. The invaders were honey bees from Africa called "killer bees." (They got that name because they're such fierce stingers.)

Hidalgo was the first town in the U.S. that the killer bees hit. Most people there didn't like the idea of killer bees as neighbors. But the mayor saw a chance to get the little town some big attention. He had a giant bee statue built and called the town the "Killer Bee Capital of the World." Shows there's more than one way to "bee" famous!

JUNGLELAND GIANT

KISSIMMEE, FLORIDA

Things can get pretty weird in Florida. And in the town of Kissimmee, things can get way weird. Alligator wrestling? Yup, got that. Bear and monkey shows? Sure thing. Giant roadside alligators? You've come to the right place!

In the parking lot between the Gator Motel and Jungleland Zoo lives the world's second largest alligator--all 126 feet of it. (The largest--at 200 feet--is nearby, in the town of Christmas.)

There's a pit full of live alligators at Jungleland Zoo. People who stay at the motel say the gators sometimes bellow all night. Maybe they're calling to that giant in the parking lot, "Who are you, and why don't you ever come over to say hi?"

WHAT A DUCK!

FLANDERS, NEW YORK

Even duck farmers can think big. Way back in 1931, Martin and Jeule Maurer were looking for ways to sell more of the ducks they raised. Why not build a huge duck along the road to attract attention? they wondered. And so that's what they did.

You can still see The Big Duck--all ten tons of it. It's on New York's Highway 24, between the Long Island towns of Flanders and Hampton Bays. A good time to visit is the first Wednesday in December. Nearby school kids gather to sing "Duck" carols and wait for Santa to arrive on a fire truck. When he does, the Christmas lights are switched on and everyone cheers. Check it out and you'll agree--The Big Duck is everything it's quacked up to be!

WORLD'S BIGGEST BUFFALO

JAMESTOWN, NORTH DAKOTA

On the plains of the upper Midwest, people think BIG. You'll find more giant animals here than any place else on Earth. There's Tommy the Turtle riding a snowmobile as big as a school bus. There's Salem Sue--a cow as big as a three-story building. But some people say the best of all is the 60-ton concrete buffalo in Jamestown. You can't miss it--in this flat countryside, you can see the buffalo from miles and miles away!

LUCY THE ELEPHANT

MARGATE, NEW JERSEY

In this little town lives one of the most famous elephants in the world. Lucy's no ordinary elephant, of course. She's as tall as a six- story building, is made of wood and tin, and has been standing there since way back in 1882.

Lucy was created by a man who sold real estate. He wanted her to attract people's attention so they'd stop and buy land along the seashore. She did her job well, but by the late 1960s, she was about to be torn down. At the last minute, the local people raised enough money to save her. Lucky Lucy . . . lucky everyone!

RIDE THE WALLEYE

RAY, MINNESOTA

Along the road leading to Lake Kabetogama is a statue of the "largest walleye in the world." Lake Kabetogama is full of this kind of fish. And fishermen come from all around to catch some. Sometimes they do, and sometimes they don't. But many stop to have their picture taken riding the walleye statue. They know that this is a big one that never gets away!

YOU BIG APE!

VIRGINIA BEACH, VIRGINIA

Drive into this town and you can't miss what might be the world's biggest gorilla. He's 60 feet tall--and as tough as the fiberglass and steel he's made from.

What's a gorilla doing in Virginia? When he was built in 1980, he was the mascot of an amusement park called Jungle Falls. The place is now called Ocean Breeze, but the big ape still stands.

Oh, and what's his name? Hugh Mongous, of course!

EEK-A FREAK!

DOUGLAS, WYOMING

One day in 1934, a guy named Douglas Herrick must have been feeling weird. He stuck antlers onto a stuffed jackrabbit and called it a jackalope. Ever since then, jackalopes have been a big joke throughout the West.

Douglas lived in the town of Douglas. (Yup--that's weird too.) And the people there started calling the town the "Home of the Jackalope." Later, they built an 8-foot-high concrete jackalope statue right in the center of town.