Detour: Remember the Alamo (Lake)

Night was filled with a number of unique sights and sounds. A million stars flickered like fireflies dancing against a black backdrop that covered the night sky. The moon, only a sliver of white light, was peeking out to watch the performance. The “hoot” of an owl, the “howl” from a pack of coyotes off in the distance and the distinguishable two-pitched “hey-haw” from the wild burros coming down from the hills were the only sounds I could hear. It was the music that serenaded me to sleep in the desert at Alamo Lake State Park.

Alamo Lake State Park is located in a rugged stretch of the Arizona outback, nestled below the Rawhide Mountains Wilderness. Yet, it is only a two and a half hour drive northwest of the sprawling metro Phoenix area. It’s highly acclaimed as one of the best bass fishing lakes in the state and is stocked with a wide variety of warm-water fish, including large-mouth bass, catfish, bluegill and crappie. But if fishing isn’t for you, there is still plenty to do. The area attracts visitors for camping, water skiing, desert hikes, bird watching and, for some, a chance to ride quads and dirt buggies along the maze of dusty trails that extend from the lake.

It’s best to visit Alamo Lake State Park in the Spring and Fall, when temperatures are mild. Summer’s sizzling heat can reach above 110 degrees, while night time lows in winter can plummet to near freezing. But do visit Alamo Lake State Park. Its spectacular views and abundant native wildlife are unique features of the Sonoran Desert best enjoyed in person.

Note: Because of Arizona's extreme financial crises, Alamo Lake, along with many other State Parks will soon close. You can help keep them open, for all to enjoy. Donate to the Arizona State Parks Foundation.

Sharpen the Saw

I am a frustrated writer.

True, I write everyday -- corporate communications, press releases and the occasional by-lined industry article, under another person's name. But all this writing lacks one thing -- creativity. And, dare I say it, so have my blog posts.

It's an occupational hazard, I'm afraid, but there is a simple solution -- Sharpen the Saw.

So I enrolled in a six-week, online course in travel writing, which will teach me, among other things, how to translate what I see, hear, touch, smell and feel (intuitively and physically) into more descriptive words. All the better for you to read.

I still have plenty of things to write about as I work through my list. I may even take a few detours, too. So check back again real soon.

My Trip To The Big House

Last month I took a trip to the Big House. No, I'm not referring to the Arizona State Prison, although its Florence facility was less than 12 miles from my destination. My trip was to the Casa Grande Ruins National Monument, which to my surprise was in the city of Coolidge and not in Casa Grande.




For those of you who have forgotten everything from your high school Spanish class, Casa Grande literally means "Big House." And that it is! It sits alone on an open desert plain, where it has towered four stories above the cactus and sagebrush for more than seven centuries. If its massive size isn't impressive enough, the fact that it was built entirely by hand -- using no modern tools or beasts of burden -- should be.



You can take a self-guided tour that loops around the adobe ruins of the Big House and the structures in the surrounding village. Don't forget to stop at the circular ball court, which is across the parking lot. Volunteers also give a number of guided tours throughout the day, which -- in my opinion -- is the best way to go.

Eusebio Francisco Kino, a Jesuit missionary who helped settle the area in the late 1600s, was the first European to lay eyes on the ruins. Others soon followed, and many left their mark behind. Father Kino wrote about several similar structures in the area, but only the Big House survived. The others were destroyed by either the elements or man.

Man did some damage to the Big House, too. It originally contained a number of log beams, made of Ponderosa pine, that the builders hauled down from the mountains, some 90+ miles away. When Americans began to settle in the area, they found these beams useful in building their homes, as well, and removed them from the old adobe structure. Other settlers, traveling by stagecoach, stopped at the Big House to rest and marvel at the strange dwelling. Some took pieces of the building as souvenirs. Others, like Aidye, left something else behind.

Today, Casa Grande Ruins National Monument is part of the National Park System, which cares for and saves special places, like this one, so that all may visit. If you go, be sure to spend some time in the visitor center, which features impressive exhibits and Hohokam artifacts. Allow an hour or two for your visit. This is a "must see" monument.