Casa Grande

Well, it's worth a visit... once. Once you've seen Casa Grande, there is not much reason to go back. However, it's pretty impressive if you take the time to learn about the building. The Casa Grande or "big house" is a 4-story, 11-room structure which was built about 700 years ago. It is surrounded by other smaller structures, including a small ballcourt.

The huge protective structure detracts from the views, but without the protection, Casa Grande's main buildings would deteriorate further. The current canopy was built in 1932, and it has pretty much allowed the ruins to remain without further deterioration. Because Casa Grande is built from adobe, or mud brick, it is rather fragile. The walls have been stabilized with plaster and brick.

Casa Grande is about 40 by 60 feet, and the walls at the base are about four feet thick. Inside the main structure, there is a good deal of graffiti left by visitors from the time of the Spanish explorers up through modern times. According to a few fuzzy photographs in an old binder in the visitor's center, there are carvings or pictographs inside the main structure, but they are not visible from the outside of the building. Visitors are not allowed inside the main structure.

Aside from the drive, you can spend anywhere from 30 minutes to a couple of hours in the park, but unless you are a researcher, photographer, or archeologist, there is not enough to interest you for longer than that.

Children have fun filling out the Junior Ranger Booklets, and receiving their Junior Ranger Badges. Also, they liked the pair of Great Horned Owls that had taken up residence in the protective structure.

For more information, you can check out the official National Parks page for Casa Grande National Monument.