As we left Phoenix we stopped by the Pueblo Grande Museum to learn about the Hohokum people that lived in the area prior to 1450. There is a short video and several exhibit galleries but the main feature is the trail through various excavated ruins. Prior to the start of the trail was a collection of petroglyphs that have been removed from their original sites.
The trail winds through an excavated platform mound, reconstructed adobe house, reconstructed pit houses, an excavated oval ballcourt and an exhibition garden. Remains of several irrigation channels are also visible. Sunrise on the summer and winter solstice lines up through two doorways in a room on top of the platform mound; the two doorways also line up with Hole-in-the-Rock in Papago Park. Unfortunately the reconstructed houses were not entirely accurate – modern building codes insisted that the doorways and roofs be taller than the originals – seems a bit silly to me!
The galleries inside include more information about the history of the Hohokum people and their vast system of irrigation channels. The current exhibit was of pot sherds and how they are used by archaeologists.
Before it got any later we headed out of Phoenix for western Arizona! Click here to see the Flickr album for Pueblo Grande.
The Travel Adventures of Cheryl and Charlie 