Listen to Harvey McPherson’s Story About the Creston Dinosaur

Traveling across the ancient sea bed of the Western Interior Seaway in my mule wagon, I’m always on the lookout for marine fossils. Imagine my surprise, as I was traveling through Creston, South Dakota, when I came around a corner and came face to face with a big-assed green dinosaur made out of cement.

Coming across a dinosaur
Creston, SD

This I had to investigate.

A bit of searching turned up the dinosaur’s caretaker, Harvey McPherson. Harvey runs the ranch owned by Ken Wilson, where the dinosaur lives. In a addition to caring for the ranch’s red angus cattle, Harvey’s become a sort of on-site dinosaur guide. On a recent morning, standing in front of the enormous green creature, Harvey gave me his take on the critter’s history.

Harvey McPherson

To listen to Harvey’s version of the story, click on the audio player below.

Harvey in front of dinosaur

What I found fascinating about the Creston dinosaur story is that as Polly and I continued our journey across the Badlands, I started coming across all sorts of stories about the dinosaur’s past. The day after I visited with Harvey and the dinosaur, I caught up with Kathleen Ann, the grand daughter of the man who built the Creston Dinousaur. RiverEarth.com will air her story soon.

So what did I learn from Harvey and Kathleen’s stories?

That every grown-up, kid and mule traveler should take time to listen to dinosaur stories. Then take a nap with one. And, of course, take a photo.

Self-portrait with dinosaur

Thanks, Harvey and Kathleen, for sharing your stories with mule Polly and me!

Update 2/19/2023

A few years after I came across the Creston dinosaur, Atlas Obscura, the website dedicated to obscure Americana, did a great piece about my visit with the dino. Click on the audio player below to listen to the story on Atlas Obscura .

Thanks

Thanks to Johanna Mayer, Dylan Thuras and everyone at Atlas Obscura who did such a great piece about the Creston dinosaur. I liked the small touches including the bit about how the man that built the dino used to grow the largest cabbages around.