Near the end of February we were looking to do something a little bit adventurous, but not too far away. In Papago Park, near the zoo, there is a rocky outcrop with an eroded passageway through it. This is known as Hole in the Rock. It is thought that the Hohokam Indians used the hole and where the sun rose relative to the hole as an observatory for marking the seasons. The hole is accessible from the steep face shown in the photo above. We took the longer, much gentler path that leads around the rock and comes to the hole from the back side.
While it’s not that high, the view from the rock is still great. It puts you up above all the surrounding hills and buildings. We just sat down and took it all in. What we found really neat about the place is that everyone else there was doing the same thing. Everyone was sitting down just looking at the vista. There were older folks, teenage girls, burley guys, us; everybody silent and looking out across the landscape. It’s like we all knew that this was some kind of sacred place. Some of that power still resides and ensures the Hole in the Rock remains a quiet retreat.
The next day we went a little further afield to another Hohokam site, Casa Grande. This is not to be confused with
Pueblo Grande. The Casa Grande ruins are to the south near Coolidge, AZ. In addition to the platform mounds we have already seen, the Hohokam built a few multi-story buildings. The only one remaining is the one preserved at
Casa Grande Ruins National Monument. And even it isn’t doing that well. Structures like Casa Grande and the “Big House” here in Phoenix (known only from early reports) are believed to be observatories. There are a few circular and square holes in the structure that pass all the way through to the inner rooms. On key days of the year light from the sun or the moon would pass right through the holes. Neat! There is more to the site than just the observatory. The eroded walls of a whole city surround the main building. There is a ball court and a couple of platform mounds as well. Among the ruins we saw a roadrunner sneaking along. Sneak, sneak, sneak!
Near the end of February we were looking to do something a little bit adventurous, but not too far away. In Papago Park, near the zoo, there is a rocky outcrop with an eroded passageway through it. This is known as Hole in the Rock. It is thought that the Hohokam Indians used the hole and where the sun rose relative to the hole as an observatory for marking the seasons. The hole is accessible from the steep face shown in the photo above. We took the longer, much gentler path that leads around the rock and comes to the hole from the back side.
While it’s not that high, the view from the rock is still great. It puts you up above all the surrounding hills and buildings. We just sat down and took it all in. What we found really neat about the place is that everyone else there was doing the same thing. Everyone was sitting down just looking at the vista. There were older folks, teenage girls, burley guys, us; everybody silent and looking out across the landscape. It’s like we all knew that this was some kind of sacred place. Some of that power still resides and ensures the Hole in the Rock remains a quiet retreat.
The next day we went a little further afield to another Hohokam site, Casa Grande. This is not to be confused with Pueblo Grande. The Casa Grande ruins are to the south near Coolidge, AZ. In addition to the platform mounds we have already seen, the Hohokam built a few multi-story buildings. The only one remaining is the one preserved at Casa Grande Ruins National Monument. And even it isn’t doing that well. Structures like Casa Grande and the “Big House” here in Phoenix (known only from early reports) are believed to be observatories. There are a few circular and square holes in the structure that pass all the way through to the inner rooms. On key days of the year light from the sun or the moon would pass right through the holes. Neat! There is more to the site than just the observatory. The eroded walls of a whole city surround the main building. There is a ball court and a couple of platform mounds as well. Among the ruins we saw a roadrunner sneaking along. Sneak, sneak, sneak!
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