Casa Grande (Big House) National Monument, Casa Grande, AZ

Monday, April 6, 2015

Casa Grande prehistoric ruins is one of the main sites to see here so we decided today would be the day.

In the parking lot the prickly pear cactus were blooming.  That pinkish bud will open up looking orange like the flower just above the bud.  The bees were in all the flowers.  You can barely see a small dark area just right of the center of the flower.  This bee has buried itself in the filaments.  I have other pictures where you cannot even see the bee yet it is in the flower.  It was interesting to me.  OK off to the ruins.

Since we have a Seniors National Park Pass, this is a free excursion for us.

It is spring here and lots of plants and trees are blooming.  This palo verde tree in full bloom is just in front of the indoor part of the museum.

Look at the size of the saguaro Tic is standing next to.  It is one of the largest saguaros we have seen.

The guided tour had started about 3 minutes ago so we immediately went outside to join the group.  The ranger told us the Indians grew 3 kinds of crops in one hole...corn, beans & squash.  The corn grew tall and shaded the beans and the squash helped the ground retain the moisture.  According to the ranger, on one acre, they were able to yield 3 times the amount farmers produce today.

Also the Indians made jewelry used to trade for other necessities.  This is an example of an etched shell.

This is the main building in the compound.  It was 4 stories tall.  Also notice the lower walls in the foreground of the picture.

These are the same walls from a different view.  These were all houses within this compound.

This is the west side of the "Big House" building.

This is the east side of the building.  Notice the 3 holes near the top of the ruin then read the sign below.

Amazing!  We think we are so smart in this age yet look what these people did.

This is the remnants of the 3 story building discussed in the sign below.

  Interesting how the Hohokam Indians lived.

This talks about the earliest houses called pit houses.

Another interesting point the ranger told us was that back in the 1300's when the Hohokams were here, water was only about 10 feet deep.  It is now about 300 feet deep.