By Kallie Hinton
Sitting in traffic behind a stopped school bus is much less mundane when you glance up and spot a green dinosaur revealing a toothy grin. His name is Dino and he has flair. To celebrate summer he wears a sombrero. In the fall, he shows his school spirit by donning a Spartan blue football helmet. For Halloween, he dresses as a ghost. Come December, he will be a green reindeer, wearing antlers and a glowing red nose.
The jolly-looking dinosaur that cranes his neck over a 6-foot wood fence on High School Road has been a Bainbridge Island resident for six years. Pete Weigel and Michelle McClure, both biologists, were inspired by a trip through Dinosaur National Monument in Utah in 2001. Soon after their return home, Dino, made of chicken wire and fiberglass, was born. Originally, he resided in the couple’s rhododendron hedge peering out to 15th Avenue in Seattle. These days, he’s an islander through and through.
“We get a lot of feedback,” Weigel said about Dino’s fame on Bainbridge. Notes of appreciation and costume suggestions are often left at Weigel and McClure’s front door. A few months ago someone left a hard hat and a note saying they would like Dino to wear the hat on Labor Day. So next time you’re headed down High School Road, don’t forget to give our prehistoric pal a peek. His style will make you smile.
