Turnabout is fair play indeed. It'd been a while since we dropped in on our friends Anne and Aaron down in Casa Grande, so we took the oppertunity of a long weekend to do just that. Of course it wouldn't be a visit together without some sort of prehistorical action going on. So after a day of rest and relaxation, we decided to hit up the ruins that give the town its name, Casa Grande National Monument.
It had rained the night before, so all the plants were looking especially vibrant as we made our way through the museum and out into the ruin complex.

Ely and Anne converse while Sean sits back in the stroller. We bypassed the ranger-led tour in the background.
Casa Grande was built by the Hohokam culture during the Big House phase (which derives its name from Big Houses like Casa Grande), which dates towards the end of the 14th and into the beginning of the 15th century, just before the Hohokam collapse.

Unlike most Colorado Plateau ruins, Casa Grande was built of Adobe. 600 years of rainfall has caused serious deterioration of many of the structures.
I'd been to Casa Grande many many years earlier, and obviously Anne and Aaron visit all the time. Ely'd never been, however, and she was impressed by how large the main structure was.

Back in the 30's, the roof was erected over the Big House to protect it from further erosion.
Apparently the Hohokam are the ancestors of some modern southern Arizona tribes like the Pima and Tohono-O'dam. There's also some tenuous links that suggest some Hopi clans emmigrated from Hohokam country. Some archeological evidence may point to Hohokam country having the origins of the Kachina religion as well, but this is somewhat in contest.

The Casa Grande big house also served as an observatory as well as a ceremonial center for the complex.
The day was really nice, and a break from the cold of Page in February. Even though a storm had come through the previous day, the air was warm (in the 70s), and the moisture on the adobe walls made for a nice color contrast.

Another section of the compound where rainfall has taken its toll on the ancient adobe.
Even though this is a national monument, and is well visited by tourists and combed over by NPS archeologists, we still managed to find some sherds of decorated and plain pottery in some out-of-the-way parts of the compound. Of course, like always, we left them where we found them. Its a serious crime to steal, destroy, or disturb archeological artifacts or sites on public land. Its also against the law to disturb human burials on private land for the sole purpose of excavating burial goods.

Casa Grande "B" Complex, across the entrance road from the main ruins.
Casa Grande preserves more than just the Big House Complex. A number of excavated and unexcavated ruins lay on the monument, including a ballcourt and the B Complex, visable from a viewing platform near the picnic area.
After a fun and informative visit to Casa Grande, the group headed south for lunch at an excellent Mexican resturant who's name I can't remember. Aaron then set a hook on me, by showing us an Arizona road atlas that had an entry labeled "Painted Rocks Petroglyph Site", located to the west of Casa Grande. Well, we're on their turf, so when in Rome...after changing some baby diapers, we were heading towards the mysterious Painted Rocks on I-8.
It took a while to find it. Longer, in fact, than we had originally planned for, but when has that ever discouraged this group? Never. Arrival at Painted Rocks came at just teh right time, as Sean was starting to be very unhappy sitting in his car seat for long - we piled out and examined the surroundings.

Aaron surveys the surroundings. Note the Sean sling strapped to his chest. Style is key.
The BLM administers Painted Rocks and also runs a campground at the site. They had also thoughtfully put a trail around a mound of rocks - this must be the trail to the magical painted rocks.
The rocks weren't painted - they were carved. They were petroglyphs, not pictographs (terms that some people seem to think are interchangable), and at first, there weren't many to be seen. "Ain't no damn painted rocks, " I bemoaned to my compatriots. There was generally agreement.

This was the first and only petroglyph we saw on the first part of the trail.
But then, as we rounded the west end of the rocky mound, and began examining the south face, it became clear that we'd hit the jackpot. Petroglyphs of all styles and sorts dotted the boulders, from the trail all the way up to the crest. Some boulders were so covered that almost no patina remained on the face. Our lack of petroglyphs earlier just made this even better. Signs at the site indicated that the site had been in use since archaic times (probably), and etchings probably continued up until the Spanish entrada. No matter when they were made, the sheer effusiveness of those who treked to this remote desert knoll left us gasping for more to say that "Wow," or "There's another one!"

Eventually we had to abandon the Painted Rocks site. The sun was begining to draw low in the western sky, and we had a long drive back to their house. But what a worthwhile venture, and I'm always glad to find a place that's new and exciting to me. And if someone else happens to find it first, and show me, well I guess if that person is Aaron or Anne, that's okay too.

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