About Skeleton Man Walking Skeleton Dinosaur
Drivers crossing central South Dakota on Interstate 90 can encounter a scene that requires no exaggeration: a gigantic human skeleton is walking a gigantic dinosaur skeleton on a leash. The figures stand in a field near the 1880 Town attraction outside Midland, turning an otherwise ordinary stretch of prairie into one of the state’s most baffling roadside sights.
The human figure is posed like a patient pet owner. Beside it, a skeletal Tyrannosaurus rex strides forward with its jaws open. The leash between them is the detail that pushes the whole thing from oversized sculpture into visual nonsense. A dinosaur skeleton alone would make sense near a tourist stop. A giant skeleton person alone would be odd. Combining the two into a casual walk creates something much better.
The sculpture has been photographed for years by travelers and by photographer Carol M. Highsmith, whose 2009 image in the Library of Congress is cataloged with the wonderfully literal note “Skeleton Man walking Skeleton Dinosaur.” There is no need for a complicated title because the object is already doing all the work.
The figures are visible near the 1880 Town complex at Interstate 90 Exit 170. The attraction itself is seasonal, but the roadside sculpture has become a landmark in its own right. South Dakota has plenty of giant roadside animals. This one stands apart because someone looked at a dinosaur skeleton and apparently decided what it really needed was a skeletal human taking it for a stroll.