We finally got the car washed! Dean had been trying to get the van washed since our first night in Spanish Fort, AL. Love bugs had done a real number on the van. He wanted a full service car wash that would scrub the bugs off. Of course, all he could find was the do-it-yourself kind! He had gotten some of the bugs off by hand, but in every city, we looked for full service car washes. Dean was a happy camper!
Before we left town, we made our third appearance at PIMA Air and Space Museum. This time it was just for Robin to run in and buy a different sized t-shirt. Dean was gracious enough (or knew he didn't stand a chance if he didn't) to agree to this last stop!
We had been searching for a Cracker Barrell for awhile and found one north of Tucson. We enjoyed a good breakfast before driving on.
Historic Site #10 - Casa Grande Ruins National Monument
As we drove, we saw signs for Casa Grande Ruins National Monument. Since it was on our way, we decided we would stop. We did and learned some very interesting information about the building practices, tribal community, and way of life of these people.
The ancient Sonoran Desert people (Hohokam Indians) built the Casa Grande (big house) and a surrounding compound over 1000 years ago. They started off as hunters and gatherers, but soon began to shift to farming. The problem they had was not enough water to grow their crops. They used crude tools to dig canals to drain water from the Gila River to their lands. Archeologists have discovered evidence that these people developed wide-scale irrigation farming and extensive trade connections.
The Casa Grande was about four stories tall. The Hohokam Indians used caliche soil to make the structure, forming the walls all by hand. HIstorians are unsure what this big house was used for since it had many different sized rooms. Small structures housed groups of people, probably families. The large shelter structure has been added to help preserve these ruins.
We drove passed a big lake and found out it was Lake Roosevelt. This was the largest man-made reservoir at one time. The lake was really pretty and so inviting. Many people were taking advantage of this for recreational purposes.
There were lots and lots of saguaros in this area, covering the sides of the hillsides. These saguaros were all very similar to each other without a whole lot of variation. They were very tall and straight with very upright stalks. We were very impressed with the quantity and quantity of saguaros. We felt there were just as many here as we had seen in both of the Saguaro National Park districts, only these weren't as unique.
Pretty soon, we entered the Tonto National Forest and then Tonto National Monument. As we got to the Visitor Center, we climbed the stairs to the upstairs outside patio. There we were able to watch the park's movie about the cliff dwellings that were in the park. We were able to view one of the cliff dwellings from afar, but did not climb the steep and lengthy path to get a closer look. We talked with the park rangers about the history of these cliff dwellings and the surrounding areas.
Once we left Tonto National Monument, we passed Lake Roosevelt Dam. It maintains the water level of Lake Roosevelt. As we continued on toward Payton, AZ, we saw many interesting sight. First we spied a roadrunner along the side of the road. Next, we found a "boot" tree. The tree had very little foliage, but had lots and lots of different kinds of boots tied to its bare branches. Why was it there? Who knows. We continued a little further and found a RV park. What was unique? It advertised on its front fence gas, groceries and cocktails. Interesting!
Dean's favorite sighting was the Elk Testing Zone signs. For the next ten minutes, jokes and sarcasm were flying about finding the elk school with desks, trying to train the elk to cross at the pedestrian walks, having elk crossing guards and many more. It was pretty funny how signs can mislead the general public about projects.
We arrived at our destination in Holbrook, AZ around 8:00 pm. The Quality Inn was the only brand name hotel we had found in Holbrook when we made reservations. It was like a blast from the past, but was clean and available for the night. We hadn't seen sun lamps in the bathrooms for quite some time.
Again, we were hungry so were directed to the Mesa Restaurant for Italian food. We probably wouldn't have gone there on our own, but with the strong recommendation from the hotel staff, we gave it a try. It was very romantic inside with candlelight and flowers on the table. The cloth table cloths were covered with clear plastic vinyl, but were clean. Dean was very quick to point out, "only the best for you!" Well, the best part was the food. It was extremely tasty and large portions. Although we didn't need so much food that late at night, we certainly enjoyed what we ate.
We headed back to the hotel and went to bed. This was the first day we had really not accomplished everything we had wanted to do. We were scheduled to go to the Petrified Forest National Park, but just couldn't drive the six hours it would have taken us in just driving time alone in addition to park time. We decided we would head there first thing in the morning before moving on from Holbrook.
