Casa Grande, Arizona 2014

4-8-14

I left Wellton at 6:00 AM and arrived at the Escapee Park, in Casa Grande, at 9:30 AM. To get a date shake I had stopped at Dateland. The restaurant was still closed. I was one hour early. Before I parked at the dry camping area, at the Escapee Park, I filled the fresh water tank.

After setting up the motorhome I went into town. I got maps and brochures at the Visitor Center and then I drove along Florence Boulevard where all the stores are. I stopped at Pep Boys and bought some motor oil. At Home Depot I bought a faucet for the kitchen sink. It will be a bigger job than I anticipated. I have to buy new hoses with special fittings. The water filtration system under the sink makes this necessary.

After Home Depot I went to a car wash and did a $ 1.50 quick wash.  I soaped the car and rinsed it and dried it with a towel. I also stopped at Walmart. Back at the motorhome I talked to my neighbor. She comes from Alaska and is also dry camping. She met the WINs in Mexico two months ago. She is a Solo with the Escapees Camping Club.

I called Glen Gill who lives around the corner. I will see him on Thursday. Tomorrow I will drive to Tucson.

It was hot today, 93 degrees F. It was peasant though when I did my evening walk. We had a wonderful sunset.

 4-9-14

This morning I drove to Tucson to visit Susanne, the widow of a workmate of mine at S&C in Chicago. She had recently a back operation and lost ten pounds, ten pound she could not afford to lose. At the moment she cannot drive. I drove her, in her SUV, to the medical center.  After that we had lunch.

From Susanne I drove to Green Valley and visited Paul and Linda. Paul worked with me at Convair and at McDonald Douglas, and Boeing. They live next to a golf course and he spends a lot of time hitting that little ball. 

Paul gave me a ride in his golf cart. We stopped at different cacti. 

This saguaro does its thing. It is very unusually to grow that way.

It was another hot day. The temperature is about 15 degrees F. above normal.

4-10-14

Glen and Kay Gill came by this morning. They live in Casa Grande now. In the summer they leave for the Midwest in their motorhome. I bought all the hardware I need for installation of the Kitchen faucet. Tomorrow morning I will do the work. It was hot again today and I did not feel like cooking. I had dinner at Kentucky Fried Chicken. The buffet is actually very good.

Most of the day I spent in the Clubhouse, where it is cool. I could move to an electric site and run the air conditioner.
 
4-11-14

Early in the morning I installed the new kitchen faucet. It went better than I had anticipated. Since it was still early and not so hot yet, I decided to drive to the Casa Grande Ruins National Monument in Coolidge.

The great house is four stories highWhen the Hohokam lived here, six hundred years ago, there was still water in the Gila River. Because of dams upstream the river is dry now. The remnants of the irrigation canals are still visible in certain areas. Besides planting food items the people had to use food they found in the desert.

Nobody knows why the settlements were abandoned. 

Vandalism was a problem and the site had to be protected and later became a National Monument. 

The building is constructed with caliche, a concrete like mix of sand, clay, and calcium carbonate (limestone). The material is found about ten feet underground. 

Casa Grande could be a prehistoric Observatory. The circular window in upper west wall aligns with the setting sun at the summer solstice.

The square hole in the upper right side of the west wall aligns every 18.5 years with the setting moon at an extreme point of its cycle.

It appears that the Hohokam devised a calendar system based on the motions of the sun and the moon, and incorporated that knowledge into their architecture.

At the theater the had some displays. There was also a saguaro boot. The boot is created when a wood pecker builds a nest in the trunk of the saguaro. The plant forms a protective wall and when the plat dies the boot survives. 

There is also a model of Casa Grande. 

On my evening walk I saw this King Snake. 

It was another hot day. I kept cool by spending time at Walmart, the library, and at the clubhouse. I did also laundry and read while the machines were running. The laundry room was air conditioned. I have two more days here and then I leave for Sedona. It is cooler there.

4-12-14

The Rover’s Roost Escapee (SKP) CO-OP RV Park is owned by the members. Members buy a lot and park their trailers or motorhomes on it. When they leave for the summer or other times, traveling Escapee members can park on those empty lots for a fee. Right now many lots are vacant because it is getting hot and people move to their summer homes or travel. The park has 120 sites with full hook-ups and 14 dry camping sites.

I and two other people are staying in the dry camping area, perhaps we are cheap.

The park is located nine miles from Casa Grande. Across from the park is farmland. Right now corn is cultivated there. The Mexican tractor driver was taking care of weeds. The tractor has air conditioning, radio, and the inside is almost like a car.

   

This was a pleasant day. It was cooler and there was a breeze.

4-13-14

I did my last morning walk on the road along the fields. Quails were running across the road to the bushes. There are a lot of birds here. Along the wall, at the park, are oleander bushes. Birds sit in them and make noise at 5:00 AM.

I am getting ready today for leaving tomorrow morning for Sedona.