Casa Grande Area

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Casa Grande is about 60 miles east of Phoenix, Arizona. One of the membership parks is there and since I wanted to leave my motor home in a secure place while I went to spend Christmas with the family it was ideal.
I liked Casa Grande although there isn’t a heck of a lot there. The town is laid out over a large area; all of the gardens of course require low or no water supply. There is a Super Wal Mart and an outlet mall—who could want more? The RV Park was very nice, lots of activities and meals served almost every night. Unfortunately my wireless connection was the absolute “PITS!” Very frustrating! I went to the public library to send the one email I did get out.
Casa Grande is home to the National Park’s Casa Grande Ruins. The American Indians who inhabited Arizona had tremendous challenges regarding their water supply but they also had great ingenuity. They were the first to use caliche which is a mixture of sand, clay and calcium carbonate and is found in the subsoil; mixed with water to make it pliable, when it dries the mixture becomes like concrete. The Southern Sinagua Indians had occupied much of the area around Camp Verde and it is thought that when they disappeared in the 1400s they melted into the Hohokam; a word that actually means “all-gone” or “all used up.” The Hohokam thrived in the Gila River Valley around here for more than a 1000 years, hunting and gathering, building canals to irrigate their crops and building structures from caliche. Villages stood along natural routes so the Hohokam could trade their pottery and jewellery with travelers. Shells from the Gulf of California, coins, mirrors, and copper bells, probably from Mexico have all been found here. However as with the Sinagua, the Hohokam people disappeared without explanation. In 1694 Father Eusebio Kino and his party of missionaries found an empty shell of the once-flourishing village. In 1892 Casa Grande became America’s first archeological preserve.

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Photos

Artist
This shows the National Park's idea of what the Great House looed like around 1200. This is the largest structure know to exist in Hohokam times.

Great House
Known as the Great House this four story structure is also built out of caliche. The builders knew very well the ways of the land and would gather inside to view the heavens. Knowing the changing positions of celestial objects meant knowing times for planting, harvest, and celebration.

Casa Grande Ruins
The circular hole in the west side aligns with the setting sun during the summer solstice. Other holes also alingn with the sun and moon at specific times.

Cover
The canopy was built in 1932 to protect the Great House from the elements.

Village
The village was completely surrounded by caliche walls. An area for playing a baseball type game has also been discovered.

Saguaro Cactus
This icon of the Arizona desert was also a source of food for the Hohokam. They used long poles to knock the fruit off the tips of the saguaro (pronounced) "sahwaro." They made jelly and ceremonial wine out of the fruit.

Longevity
The Saguaro lives for about 200 years. It usually attains full height of about 30' at age 75 and only then starts to grow "arms." The arms are for photosynthesis as well as providing stabilization for the huge cactus.