Jurustic Park – The Land of Scrap Metal Dragons and Critters

Jurustic Park - Marshfield, Wisconsin Jurustic Park – Marshfield, Wisconsin[/caption] Last October (2012) I made a trip to Wisconsin with my daughter and granddaughter.  We visited a number of places, but there was none better than Jurustic Park.  (You can see the entire trip report posts here — Wisconsin Trip 2012). Jurustic Park is the brainchild of former attorney Clyde Wynia, who calls himself a paleontologist. [caption id="attachment_3793" align="aligncenter" width="300"]Clyde Wynia - the local Jurustic Park paleontologist Clyde Wynia – the local Jurustic Park paleontologist[/caption] In reality, he has taken to doing metal work and welding of a hundreds of critters, which, he claims (in his paleontologist hat), were many of the “extinct creatures that inhabited the large McMillan Marsh near Marshfield during the Iron Age.”  He claims to have discovered these creatures and has worked to get them back together.  Wisconsin Public Television has a wonderful transcript from an interview they did with him in April 2011…its a good read. [caption id="attachment_3731" align="aligncenter" width="300"]Jurustic Park Dragon Jurustic Park Dragon[/caption] Finding Marshfield, Wisconsin is a tricky task (see the map at the bottom of this post).  Once you get there and park, you will likely be met by Clyde and he will give you the ultimate tour, tell you the stories (both real and made up all intermingled) and will demonstrate and explain some of his nearly 1000 pieces.  I asked him how many he has made and he said he has never counted them!! [caption id="attachment_3735" align="aligncenter" width="300"]Porkypine Porkypine[/caption] [caption id="attachment_3732" align="aligncenter" width="199"]A Hobbit A Hobbit[/caption] [caption id="attachment_3757" align="aligncenter" width="300"]Guard Dog Guard Dog[/caption] [caption id="attachment_3728" align="aligncenter" width="300"]A thing-a-ma-jigger A thing-a-ma-jigger[/caption] [caption id="attachment_3778" align="aligncenter" width="300"]The "Petuna" Planter The “Petuna” Planter[/caption] There are a number of scrap metal artists around the country and I have visited many of them, but nothing tops this place off.  The real centerpiece is a meticulously crafted 48 foot tall dragon.  It is a beautiful piece of art! [caption id="attachment_3730" align="aligncenter" width="426"]Giant Dragon at Jurustic Park Giant 48 foot tall Dragon at Jurustic Park[/caption] [caption id="attachment_3776" align="aligncenter" width="213"]Rear view of giant dragon Rear view of giant dragon[/caption] [caption id="attachment_3783" align="aligncenter" width="300"]Roar! Roar![/caption] Clyde tells the story of McMillan Marsh and how he came across these animals from the “Iron Age”. He then says “I did my best to excavate and recreate the now extinct iron species. They died out when farming and industry moved into the area in the mid 19th century.” He had obviously told this story numerous times because it was down pat! [caption id="attachment_3786" align="aligncenter" width="300"]Dog and Hydrant Dog and Hydrant[/caption] [caption id="attachment_3753" align="aligncenter" width="199"]Another hydrant "user" Another hydrant “user”[/caption] [caption id="attachment_3729" align="aligncenter" width="256"]Oops! Oops![/caption] [caption id="attachment_3755" align="aligncenter" width="199"]Pet Snails Pet Snails[/caption] [caption id="attachment_3726" align="aligncenter" width="300"]Here Spidey Spidey Here Spidey Spidey[/caption] [caption id="attachment_3742" align="aligncenter" width="199"]What is it? What is it?[/caption] Wynia’s whimsical creations are as small as hand sized snails and spiders and as big as the huge dragon. There is an amazing variety of critters that “once existed in the nearby swamp.” His creativity is fun loving and he seems to have a story for each one of the articles. [caption id="attachment_3747" align="aligncenter" width="300"]A horse head A horse head[/caption] [caption id="attachment_3734" align="aligncenter" width="640"]A band of critters A band of critters[/caption] [caption id="attachment_3780" align="aligncenter" width="300"]A.K.C. - All Kinda Cute A.K.C. – All Kinda Cute[/caption] [caption id="attachment_3787" align="aligncenter" width="199"]Orchestral Frogs Golfing Frogs[/caption] [caption id="attachment_3764" align="aligncenter" width="300"]Funky Cats Funky Cats[/caption] Besides his passion for growing this menagerie of whimsical critters, Clyde has turned to selling items as well.  He has small hand sized spiders and large dogs and flowery thingies that visitors can pick up if they are interested.  On our trip we picked up a scary little spider. [caption id="attachment_3770" align="aligncenter" width="300"]Rusty the Scorpion Rusty the Scorpion[/caption] [caption id="attachment_3772" align="aligncenter" width="199"]Who knows? Who knows?[/caption] [caption id="attachment_3785" align="aligncenter" width="300"]Lots of critters Lots of critters[/caption] Clyde Wynia uses all sorts of scrap metal to make his critter family. A walk around the “park” will also lead you through his junkyard of scrap metal. [caption id="attachment_3766" align="aligncenter" width="300"]Scrap Metal Scrap Metal[/caption] [caption id="attachment_3765" align="aligncenter" width="300"]Springs and things Springs and things[/caption] [caption id="attachment_3759" align="aligncenter" width="300"]Tools of the Trade Tools of the Trade[/caption] [caption id="attachment_3756" align="aligncenter" width="300"]More building materials More building materials[/caption] And, to finish it off, here are just a few more of Clyde Wynia’s creations. [caption id="attachment_3741" align="aligncenter" width="640"]A Dragon Bird A Dragon Bird[/caption] [caption id="attachment_3769" align="aligncenter" width="300"]A Tough Couple A Tough Couple[/caption] [caption id="attachment_3773" align="aligncenter" width="199"]A Sneaky Attorney A Sneaky Attorney[/caption] [caption id="attachment_3807" align="aligncenter" width="300"]Toothy Grin Toothy Grin[/caption] [caption id="attachment_3782" align="aligncenter" width="640"]Another Dragon Another Dragon[/caption] In fact, I loved this place so much that I almost lost my head!! [caption id="attachment_3724" align="aligncenter" width="426"]Ouch! Ouch![/caption]

Some roadside assistance provided by friends at……

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