Before the storm

Due to all the excitement of the storm, I forgot a side excursion we made before reaching Tucson.


Between Phoenix and Tucson we saw a sign for Casa Grande Ruins. Good enough reason to leave the interstate and look! 



After long stretches of saguaro-covered hills, we saw what, from a distance, looked like a space ship. Yeah, we thought the heat was getting to us, too.

It wasn't the heat. It was the cover built over the Casa Grande Ruins. This out-of-the-way National Monument was an interesting side trip. Casa grande literally means "big house" in Spanish and this structure certainly was. 


Of course, modern buildings are much bigger, but when one considers that this multi-story house was built without the modern conveniences like Home Depot or Lowe's... well, let's just say it is impressive. Throw in the fact that it was built mainly of mud and its awesomeness factor rises exponentially.

We were not allowed to enter the structure. In fact, most of the area is still an active archeological dig and off limits to the public. The Casa Grande is actually the main building of the remnants of a village that once held about 2,000 inhabitants spread over several square miles. For more details on these early dwellers and the monument, visit Casa Grande Ruins.




Another fun thing about Casa Grande Ruins was the awesome, super-old saguaros there. It takes at least 50 years for a saguaro cactus to grow an arm. Want to guess how old the fellow Indi-Mac is standing next to is? All I know is that it is gorgeous!

After our side trip to Casa Grande, we made another stop, this time at the Saguaro National Park. By now the temperature was beyond toasty. It is hard to imagine how people manage to live here, but they do. How hot was it? When we came back to our bikes after checking out the visitor's center, we found that Dennis' kickstand had literally sank into the asphalt, which had been melted by the heat.

Regardless of the heat, the scenery was beautiful. Dry? Yes. Dusty? Yes. Worth it? Yes!