Last weekend I had the pleasure of attending the most fabulous wedding EVAR of my cousin down in Florence, Arizona.  Fun Fun.  Happy Happy.  On the way back towards Phoenix we decided to check out Casa Grande Ruins National Monument. From a distance the great house made from a mix of sand, clay, and limestone can be seen.  It makes quite the formidable site because a structure has been lovingly been created to save the house from further rain and sun decay.

The structures were made by the Hohokum people settling near the Gila river around 1350.  This and other houses were build around irrigation canals created for agricultural purposes and survival in the harsh desert.  (It was harsh enough for me at only 95 degrees last weekend.)  A short time later we are left with fragments of the buildings left in the Sonoran desert.  Old graffiti can be seen inside from the 1850s when people would pass by.

I love the desert.  My skin and my lungs may not but I enjoy the beauty of the harsh environment with nearby Saguaro cactus dotting the landscape.  Cactus, birds, snakes, and hills in the distance marking your progress.  This was a nice little oasis on the drive from remote Florence back towards the civilization of Phoenix.