Stopover in Phoenix
April 24th-25th
It was a relatively quick trip on the highway between Tucson and Phoenix, so we decided to take a detour to see the Casa Grande National Monument. We actually didn’t have any idea what it was until we got there since it wasn’t mentioned in any of our guide books. I told Fab, using my excellent Spanish skills; it must be a big house. And that it was, a big house built by the Hohokam Indians around 1350 AD. It was also the U.S.’s first archeological preserve.
After the visit, we continued towards Phoenix. We had set aside the afternoon to visit the Heard Museum. The Heard Museum, opened 80 years ago by the Heards, a couple passionate about Native American art, is a beautiful museum showcasing the cultures and art of the Native peoples of the Americas. One of the powerful exhibits in the museum was about Indian boarding schools, something that I had very little knowledge about. The program began with the purpose of assimilating Native American children into the white man’s’ culture by forcibly removing them from their homes and families and sending them to military style boarding schools. Over time, the schools became less brutal, and native culture was integrated into the schools. The program began in the 1880s and continued until 1990.
That evening, we found a motel with a nice swimming pool in Scottsdale, one of the suburbs of Phoenix, and ordered in pizza for dinner. It wasn’t a traditional Easter dinner, but our chance to be lazy for the evening.
On Monday morning we visited historic Scottsdale, an old west town with lots of chic art galleries. Now it’s known for its golf courses and upscale shopping. We drove back to downtown Phoenix and visited the Mining Museum. Mining is the primary industry in Arizona, particularly copper. The museum was more about geology than mining, but there were some interesting exhibits. Then we crossed the street to see the pretty state capitol building. There was an exhibit in the capitol museum about the Friendship Train. In 1947, the U.S. sent a train with food and items collected from Americans across the U.S. to the people of France and Italy who were suffering from food shortages following WWII. France sent a train back in return called the “Merci” train with gifts made by the French people for Americans as a thank you for their generosity. The train and the gifts that were given to the people of Arizona were on display in an exhibition in the Capitol. We’ve seen these “Merci” trains at every state capitol but we didn’t know what they were for. In front of the building, there was a small protest (around 20 people) over proposed budget cuts. It was the first demonstration we’ve seen since traveling the U.S. After a picnic in the park, it was time to get back on the road towards the Grand Canyon, but with a small stopover first in the Sedona region.
Tags: Arizona FR, BIG TRIP 2011, In English 2005-2006
Administrator
Leave a Reply