Casa Grande Ruins National Monument

We stopped here on our way from Green Valley to our next destination, Sedona, Arizona. Casa Grande (Great House) was completed about 1350 by prehistoric people called Hohokam (even though they lived in the Southwest , they were never referred to as Indians). They came to the area about 200 BC and mysteriously disappeared about 1450. Casa Grande was the culmination of their building skills and was used for 100 years.
It was 'discovered' by souvenir hunters in the late 1880's, who threatened it by taking artifacts and pieces of the building. You can still see their graffiti. It was officially protected in 1897 as the first archeological reserve.

What it looked like in the late 1880's before the Park Service took over.

It has been covered since 1906.

This was 4 stories when completed. I don't know what was so special on the ground when this was taken.

A view on the inside.

Who is that hiding in the ruins ? This was once a 3 story building.

The remains of a ballcourt. See next photo.

Easier than me trying to explain.

Love those prickly pear cactus !

Close-up of one of the flowers.

Mesquite tree. I thought that with all the mesquite chips you can buy for grills, mesquite would be scarce.  But itis not; they are all over Southern Arizona.

The only saguaro we saw blooming.  Even the ones in Saguaro National Park had not yet bloomed.
A honey bee coming out of a prickly pear cactus flower after getting a sweet snack.

A round tailed ground squirrel.

Tombstone, Arizona

They did a pretty good job. It had the wooden sidewalks in front of the stores and cars were not allowed on the streets

The infamous Bird Cage Theatre. It was a combination theater, saloon, parlor and brothel. It operated from 1881 to 1889.

Big Nose Kate's Saloon. It started as the Grand Hotel. See the next photo.

"The Town to Tough to Die."  That might have been true in the late 1800's, but not by the way it looks today.  They have fixed up part of it to look like an old West town, but it's off the main road.  If you were just driving by, you would never know you were in 'The' Tombstone.  I thought for sure there would be a neat 'Welcome to Tombstone' sign, but they only had your standard town limit signs and billboards.

Everything you wanted to know, but were afraid to ask...

A stained glass tribute to Tombstone inside the saloon.

This is where they stage the reenactment of the famous gunfight that took place on October 26, 1881. The gunfight was actually in a vacant lot near the rear entrance of the OK Corral.

Boothill Graveyard.  Not quite what we expected. We figured it would look more like it did in the 1880's. As you will see in the next 3 photos, it has been cleaned up.

They did have the graveyard well marked and provided a pamphlet that described each known grave site. It is believed to hold over 300 persons, 205 of which are recorded.

We liked the saying on this one !

The three 'bad' guys killed at the gunfight.

Coronado National Memorial

This was one of those places we went to not knowing what to expect.  It was about 90 miles SE of Green Valley, a mile from the Mexican border.  It looked like it would be about an hour and a half away; it took almost 3 hours !  Now, was the site worth it ?  It was a memorial to Francisco Vasquez de Coronado, who past through the area in 1540 while exploring the Southwest for Spain.  There are no ruins or monuments to Coronado, just a memorial to his explorations.  After we got done, we decided it was.  The views and scenery were spectacular.  The Park Service visitors center was at an altitude of 1 mile.  The scenic route took us to the main overlook which was at 6,675' and from there was a half mile trail to Coronado Peak, which was at 6,864.'  From that vantage point, you could almost 100 miles in every direction.  

Panorama of San Rafael Valley (looking west).

Just above the center of the photo you will see a dark line going slightly up from right to left. That is the border fence. The winding road you see is the one that goes to the main overlook.

Coronado nomad.

Self portrait on Coronado Peak.

Panorama of San Pedro Valley. Way in the background is San Jose Peak in Mexico.

A view to the parking lot of the overlook from Coronado Peak. You can just make out 2 pieces of equipment on the left side of the lot: That is one of the cameras used by the Border Patrol.

Desert paintbrush.  The only blooming flower we saw on the trail to the peak. The flowers are about 3" across.