We have visited Casa Grande Ruins National Monument three or four times over the years since our first visit in 1979. The Monument is located between Phoenix and Tucson, and can be a nice side trip when traveling between the two cities.

It is not a large Monument, but if you visit in the cooler winter months it can be a pleasant experience. On our visits there have been only a handful of visitors, so the pace is casual and peaceful. But don't go expecting a Mesa Verde or Hovenweep or even a Wupatki. Most of the ruins have been stabilized and are relatively small compared to the other parks. But the Great House is well worth the time. There is nothing like it in any of the other parks. It is a unique feature of these desert cultures.

Most visitors go directly to Compound A, where the Great House is located. But don't forget to walk to the north of the parking area and climb up to the observation point. There you'll see the remains of a ball court. If I remember correctly, this is the most northern ball court they've discovered. It used to be that one could walk up to the ball court and get a close look, but on our most recent visit we were restricted to the view from the observation platform.

If you are into museums, the exhibits there are informative and they have a very interesting collection of native pots and tools.

Our most recent visit was on Sunday, December 21, 2003. We were on our way from our home in Utah to visit Anne's sister in Tucson for Christmas. The sky was blue (as you can see from the photo above) and the air was cool and clean. There might have been 12 visitors while we were there. We took our time, got a close look at each of the main features of the ruins, then ate a pleasant, quiet picnic lunch under the sparse shade of a Palo Verde tree. That's a rare experience when visiting sites so close to heavily populated areas. Very nice.