The entrance to the "Casa Grande" National Monument and Museum
Impressive, big and very old ruins are waiting to be explored(read more about in the links below)
View from the side... the person in the left corner gives you an idea how BIG this ruins are
Some smaller ruins on the side
The back side of the ruins(read the description in the following picture to this photo)
Click in the photo to read it bigger. This photo belongs to the photo above!
View from the ruins out into country side and the hills outside around of Mesa,AZ
This is David's uncle and his lovely wife who took us out to this National Monument side of Coolidge, ArizonaCasa Grande Ruins National Monument,
in Coolidge, Arizona, just northeast of the city of Casa Grande, preserves a group of Hohokam structures.
The national monument consists of the ruins of multiple structures surrounded by a compound wall constructed by the Hohokam, who farmed the Gila Valley in the early 1200s. "Casa Grande" is Spanish for "big house" (Siwan Wa'a Ki: in O'odham); these names refers to the largest structure on the site, which is what remains of a four story structure that may have been abandoned by the mid-1400s. The structure is made of caliche, and has managed to survive the extreme weather conditions for about seven centuries. Graffiti from 19th-century passers-by is scratched into its walls; though this is now illegal. Casa Grande now has a distinctive modern roof covering built in 1932.
Casa Grande or the "Big House,"
as it may have appeared around 1350 C.E. One of the largest prehistoric structures ever built in North America, its purpose remains as much a mystery as the people who built it. Archeologists have discovered evidence of wide-scale irrigation farming and trade which lasted over a thousand years and ended about 1450. Today the ancient ones are remembered as the "Hohokam," an O'odham word meaning "Those Who Are Gone."
Hi my friends,
again... thank you for all the nice and kind comments to my blog!! You always make my day with your friendly words :)
We are still stocked in warm Arizona, we were visiting friends and family and tomorrow we will move on for good - slowly towards East again, back over to New Mexico and then further to East, on I-40 - and of course to see pieces of the old Route 66 again. I'm sure there will be a lot to see and to photograph. I'm excited to see a lot of new "stuff"!! :)
So, stay tuned with me - and see you later!
Susanne and David
in Coolidge, Arizona, just northeast of the city of Casa Grande, preserves a group of Hohokam structures.
The national monument consists of the ruins of multiple structures surrounded by a compound wall constructed by the Hohokam, who farmed the Gila Valley in the early 1200s. "Casa Grande" is Spanish for "big house" (Siwan Wa'a Ki: in O'odham); these names refers to the largest structure on the site, which is what remains of a four story structure that may have been abandoned by the mid-1400s. The structure is made of caliche, and has managed to survive the extreme weather conditions for about seven centuries. Graffiti from 19th-century passers-by is scratched into its walls; though this is now illegal. Casa Grande now has a distinctive modern roof covering built in 1932.
Casa Grande or the "Big House,"
as it may have appeared around 1350 C.E. One of the largest prehistoric structures ever built in North America, its purpose remains as much a mystery as the people who built it. Archeologists have discovered evidence of wide-scale irrigation farming and trade which lasted over a thousand years and ended about 1450. Today the ancient ones are remembered as the "Hohokam," an O'odham word meaning "Those Who Are Gone."
Hi my friends,
again... thank you for all the nice and kind comments to my blog!! You always make my day with your friendly words :)
We are still stocked in warm Arizona, we were visiting friends and family and tomorrow we will move on for good - slowly towards East again, back over to New Mexico and then further to East, on I-40 - and of course to see pieces of the old Route 66 again. I'm sure there will be a lot to see and to photograph. I'm excited to see a lot of new "stuff"!! :)
So, stay tuned with me - and see you later!
Susanne and David
14 comments:
Great shots. Very interesting stuff. Glad to see you are still having a good time. :)
I was just in Phoenix 2 weeks ago, visiting my daughter! Wonderful weather this time of year, not yet really hot. Just right!
The pictures are great! The countryside is nicely depicted, evoking a feel of the local desert, and your description was educational. Thanks!
We live just off I-40! Wave as you drive by Winston-Salem, NC!
What a very interesting post Susanne and great photos.
I'm sorry if there are lapses in my comments but I have been under a great deal of strain from work and have been off sick since Christmas. I haven't been out with my camera very much and have been posting quite a lot of old photos. I was out on Sunday but felt I had lost my keen eye I used to have. I hope once these events are over at work I will then be bale to continue properly taking photos once more. I f am sorry for posting this comment onto your blog but feel you are a friend and I need to explain why I have been neglecting my friendy bloggers.
Have a nice trip Susanne and look forward to seeing more wonderful travelogs.
Carole
Hi Susanne,
Some very impressive sights you've been showing us. You two must be having a blast! Safe journey on your return.
Z in Villigen CH
Hey Susanne, my you made far...sounds like fun place to see. Anna :)
I loved the one of the ruins wayyyyyy in the distance!
Interesting place!
The Retirement Chronicles
Thanks for the tour. Excellent images!!!
Great photos, of course! I really get the travel bug when I see such great pictures. I am also fighting winter still here in NJ, so all the more reason to visit your blog and enjoy! All the best, be safe on the roads.
Interesting work. I make my living doing art work but play with my photography and do some writing with it. {accessed through my art blog-Outdoor Adventures]Another way to express myself I guess. Occassionaly get down to the Sonoran dessert in Arizona and am fascinated with it. So much different than Wyoming. That must be quite a project traveling the country, photographing as you go. Good luck and keep up the great work.
Great Pics... Too cool blog !!
I cam across this blog for the first time today and would be a follower... Good Stuff... I share a PhotoBlog (mainly on India):
http://dhanashreepuneet.blogspot.com
Very cool observatory Susanne, thanks for the links and info.
Wow, great to be there, I love prehistoric places like this one. Thanks so much for the descriptions and explanations to it.
Have fun and have a great time!
Again; never been there, so thanks for taking us with - wonderful pictures!
Happy Easter :-)
Loved your work! Glad you enjoyed your visit and hope you make a return trip!
Jason Lott, Superintendent, Casa Grande Ruins National Monument
P.S. Loved the song too. I used to live down the road from Luckenbach.
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