Friday, December 19, 2008

Casa Grande Ruins, Coolidge, AZ Dec 14, 2008

We stopped for a visit at the Casa Grande Ruins National Monument in Coolidge, AZ. It was so much larger than I imagined, over four stories high and 60 feet long. Early Spanish explorers called it the Great House (Casa Grande). It is the largest structure to exist of the Hohokam culture. This structure has openings that align with the setting sun of the summer solstice, other openings align with the sun and moon at specific dates. It is built with caliche (sand, clay and limestone), a material found in the subsoil beneath their feet. It is similar to concrete. This structure took over 3,000 tons of this material to construct

You can see how thick the walls are behind Bob. They found out that the thicker the walls were the higher they could build the structure. This Great House was constructed before 1350, but by 1694 was an empty shell.

Sunday, December 14, 2008

Visiting Family, Dec 13, 2008

We left Gold Canyon and drove all of about 40 miles to an RV park in Coolidge. In the afternoon we drove a short distance to visit my niece, Joellen, her husband Mike, and kids, Matt and Sam. The photo above is of one of their newer pets. Mike currently active duty Air Force, does exotic animal rescue in his spare time. This was one of his rescues that he adopted. It is a Sulcata http://www.reptilechannel.com/reptile-species/turtles-and-tortoises-profiles/african-spurred-tortoise-2.aspxTortoise, according to Jo he weighs about 65 pounds, and will get up to over 200 lbs. Pretty amazing!!

We spent the evening visiting getting caught up on the last two years of activities. Enjoyed hearing about Jo's new job of a year now, and to find out she has a promotion coming up in Feb. to a 'Corrections Officer' at a nearby prison. Great job Jo! For dinner Mike fixed his famous hamburgers--even some jalapeno ones for Bob. Thought the above family photo was unique, check out the mirror!

In this special moment in life...Rediscover old friends

Saturday, December 13, 2008

Visiting Friends & Tires, Dec 12, 2008

We had a great visit with Tressa and Bruce. It was great to get caught up on the past two years since we had seen them last. We also drained their brains on France canal boat travel, as that is what Bob and I and our friends John and Judy are going to do in April. {One hint-they used 'le-boat'} Tressa and Bruce had been on 3 other canal boat trips, so in our eyes they were experts.
The evening sky was 'on fire', not really, but sure looked like it. It was a little cloudy, so our view of the largest full moon was not as pristine as we had hoped. Thanks Rich for the email head's up.
.
Earlier in the day we were on a mission, after examining the Explorer tires more carefully, we noticed they were in need of being replaced. I believe that leaky rear tire was giving us a hint. So we ended up at a Big O tire store, and now the Explorer sports four new tires, ready for the next 50,000 miles.
.
We will be leaving Gold Canyon today and heading to Coolidge, all of 40 miles to visit with my niece and her family.
.
In this special moment in life...Live God's message.
Related Posts with Thumbnails