WHEATLAND — Just off Interstate 25 on the west side of town, a familiar green dinosaur stands watch over travelers pulling off at Exit 78.
It's a longtime stop at a Sinclair gas station where drivers heading between Cheyenne and Casper often stop for fuel, snacks, and a brief break before continuing across Wyoming’s long stretches of open prairie.
Lately, the roadside oasis has been drawing more attention than usual. In a town where wildlife, ranching, and wide-open country are part of everyday life, one local business decided the dinosaur could use a little Wyoming personality of its own.
About two months ago, staff at the Wheatland station gave the green dinosaur a seasonal upgrade: a set of elk antlers. The addition quickly transformed the familiar Sinclair mascot into something new, a hybrid roadside figure that employees and regulars now jokingly call the “Elkosaurus.”
Douglas lays claim to being the birthplace of the jackalope, now Wheatland has its Elkosaurus.
It Was Bill
The idea came from Bill James, a cashier who is also a carpenter by trade and known among coworkers for his creative projects around the property.
James is often building, fixing, or modifying small displays, especially seasonal decorations, his coworkers said. With permission from Sinclair, which allows stations to customize their green dinosaurs, he decided the antlers might fit the local character of Platte County.
“It’s an outdoorsy community, (with) hunters,” said store manager Nicole McClellan. “He thought people might like it, and honestly, they do. They’re loving it.”
The result has become something of a local talking point, and an unexpected roadside attraction.
McClellan said visitors routinely stop to take selfies and photos with Elkosaurus, often climbing up beside it or posing underneath the antlers for pictures.
“They sit on the dino and get their picture taken,” she said. “They’re freaking out about our little Elkosaurus. It’s nothing they’ve ever seen before in Wheatland.”
What might have been a simple decoration has turned into a quirky community spectacle. McClellan said reactions range from amused curiosity to outright delight, especially from travelers who weren’t expecting to see an antlered dinosaur in the middle of southeastern Wyoming.
“It’s such a great photo opportunity,” she said. “We have older folks stopping, younger folks, families. We even had a bus of students from the university come through, and they were all out there hanging on the dinosaur.
"A bunch of 20-year-olds just having fun with it. You can’t help but smile.”
Turning Heads
Elkosaurus isn’t the first Sinclair dinosaur to get a makeover. Other stations put hats on theirs or dress them up for holidays.
In north Cheyenne, Stuart Flynn has one on a trailer that he takes to local events and parades. He puts a saddle on his and allows kids to get on for photos.
Locals say the reaction has become part of the fun. One group chatting recently at the Platte County Library said the Elkosaurus has been a welcome bit of humor in town life.
“It’s just fun to see people having fun with things around a small town like this,” one resident said. “You don’t always get that kind of lighthearted stuff here, and it’s nice.”
In a place like Wheatland, where Interstate 25 serves as both a lifeline and a corridor for cross-state travel, roadside stops often become informal gathering points for stories, rest breaks, and snapshots of Wyoming life. The Elkosaurus has become one of those.
McClellan said the attention has gone far beyond passing visitors.
Photos of the antlered dinosaur have circulated widely on social media, particularly on Facebook, where locals and travelers have shared images and reactions.
She said the station has also received texts and calls from people across the state who have seen the photos or heard about the Elkosaurus through word of mouth.
“It’s been all over Facebook,” she said. “We’ve had messages and calls from people saying they’ve seen it or they’re planning to stop and check it out.”
Part of the appeal, McClellan said, is that it blends two familiar Wyoming symbols — Sinclair’s famous green dinosaur that has become a fixture along America’s roadsides, and the elk, one of the most recognizable animals in the state’s rugged landscape. The combination is fun and fitting for a region where wildlife sightings are part of daily life.
Its Name Is Dino
The original green dinosaur itself has a long history. And yes, it has an official name: Dino.
It is part of the branding of Sinclair Oil Corp., one of the most recognizable corporate mascots in American travel culture.
First introduced in the 1930s, the Sinclair dinosaur became a symbol of gasoline stations along the expanding American highway system, particularly in the West.
For decades, the dinosaur has stood at Sinclair stations across the country, serving as an advertisement and landmark — a cheerful relic of roadside Americana that evokes an era when road trips were slow, scenic, and full of unexpected stops.
Over time, it has become not just a corporate logo, but a nostalgic fixture of small-town routes and family vacations.
In that context, the Wheatland Elkosaurus is the latest evolution of a longstanding tradition: stations customizing their dinosaurs to reflect local personality.
While most remain unchanged, some locations occasionally dress theirs for holidays, seasons, or community events. The Wheatland version, however, has taken on a life of its own thanks to the elk antlers.
McClellan said the station’s flexibility to decorate the dinosaur has allowed staff to engage with the community in a lighthearted way, and the response has reinforced that decision.
“We’ve got hunters, ranchers, families — it just fits the area,” she said. “People like seeing something fun when they pull off the highway. It breaks up the drive.”
The Elkosaurus has also become something of a social media magnet, with visitors posing for photos and sharing them online. Some stop intentionally after seeing posts, while others stumble upon it unexpectedly during travel along Interstate 25.
Either way, McClellan said the reaction is consistently positive.
“It’s funny because you’ll see all kinds of people out there,” she said. “Older folks, kids, whole groups. Everybody’s taking pictures. Everybody’s laughing. It brings people together in a weird way.”
While the display began as a small, creative experiment, it has the potential to become a roadside stopping point that travelers will remember. For some, it’s a quick photo stop. For others, it’s a fun sighting along Wyoming’s vast prairies.
Even as the attention around the Elkosaurus grows, McClellan said the plan is to keep the antlers in place for the foreseeable future. The station is also hinting at additional seasonal or creative changes ahead, though staff are keeping details quiet for now.
“We’ve got something special planned,” she said. “But we’re going to keep that a secret for a little bit.”
For now, the Elkosaurus continues to stand just off Exit 78 — part corporate mascot, part local joke, and part roadside oddity — greeting travelers with a distinctly Wyoming twist on one of America’s most enduring travel icons.
Kolby Fedore can be reached at kolby@cowboystatedaily.com.
