Yesterday was a free entrance day for US National Parks, and there are several more scheduled this year.
One of the first fee-free days we took advantage of fell on the same day as our nieces’ dance recital a few years ago. We searched “find a park” and saw that there was one – not exactly on the way – but in the right general direction.
Even though it’s just an hour south of Phoenix, I had never been to Casa Grande Ruins National Monument in Coolidge (not, incidentally, in the town of Casa Grande). Phillip hadn’t been since he was a kid, so we planned a pre-recital detour.
The “big house” it’s named for is a centuries-old adobe structure that’s still standing, now covered by a large metal roof constructed in 1932 to help protect it. Parts of walls from the surrounding complex remain, as well as an oval ball court.
It’s always fascinating to confront history like that and think about people living their lives within those same walls 600 years ago.
And then we went to watch our nieces dance their hearts out.
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