Thanksgiving in the Tucson, Arizona desert is a beautiful location. Warm days, cool nights and the tranquility of the Sonoran Desert, it was just what we were looking for. Another amazing Arizona sunset on the way to Tucson.
Mesa, Arizona Thanksgiving Week
We drove to Mesa to visit Sandy’s cousin Pieter and his family and her aunt Lois. We visited during Halloween. It was so nice to see Lois again and catch up with her. She lives in Texas. She is very easy to talk to and it was as if no time had passed since we last saw her.
Jake loves to rest on the center console of the pickup truck. From there he can watch the world go by and spot any interesting animals, mostly cows.
Casa Grande Ruins National Monument
Along the way was Casa Grande Ruins which is a National Monument. Ancestral People of the Sonoran Desert, referred to as “Hohokam” built this four-story structure about year 1350. The Salt and Gila Rivers supplied drinking water and irrigation for crops like beans, squash, tobacco, cotton and agave. Despite centuries of weathering and souvenir hunters, there are a number of artifacts at the National Monument giving a good feel for what life was like in the Arizona Sonoran Desert in the 1300-1400s.
Lunch at Tag’s Café in Coolidge, Arizona was good. Basically a Mom and Pop restaurant that serves American/Mexican food.
Cotton is grown here. Although Pima cotton did not originate from here, the US government worked with the Pima Indians in the early 1900s to develop Pima cotton in the United States. The cotton is known for its long fibers and softness.
The problem with the term Pima is that it can be grown anywhere and still be called Pima. The United States Cotton Growers came up with “Supima” which is an American version of a long fiber, strong, soft, premium Pima cotton. Supima represents less than 1% of the cotton grown in the world.
There were also fields of roses.
