by Jeanne Strauber, Travel & Entertainment Editor
Here are a couple of interesting museums in “nearby” Scottsdale, AZ to enjoy on a weekend visit. Adjacent to one of the Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport runways sits the Pueblo Grande Museum, an excavated village and display of artifacts of the Hohokam Native-Americans who lived in this area until about 1450 A.D.
Although the original village was more than 500 acres, the park contains the central 100-acre portion of the original site. The Hohokam people, expert farmers who grew corn, squash, beans and cotton, were known to have lived throughout central and southern Arizona. They used adobe to construct towns. Amazingly they developed hundreds of miles of canals to drain water from the Salt River to irrigate their fields and traded their crops with other tribes.
oday, there isn’t any Hohokam Indian reservation. It is widely believed that these people were absorbed the Pima and Papago tribes. The museum contains basketry, weapons, pottery, children’s toys, jewelry and much much more. I found that the short video about the Hohokam very helpful before I strolled through the museum or along the self-guided walking trail which winds around this ancient village.
For more information about the Pueblo Grande Museum go to www. pueblogrande.com. A short distance from the Pueblo Grande Museum one will find the Hall of Flame and Firefighting. This museum exhibits many pieces of fire-fighting equipment with the An ‘adobe compound’ home and walled courtyard like those built around 1000 years ago. earliest, a hand-pulled 1725 hand-pulled water pump.
One will also find early hook-andladder trucks from the early 1900s. How interesting it is to observe how fire-fighting equipment has changed over the past four hundred years. One exhibit hall that is sobering honors the firefighters (and policemen) who lost their lives on September 11. A piece of steel girder from the World Trade Center is exhibited. Though the tour is self-guided, the visitor is provided a notebook which describes each piece. Children ages 3 and up can take part in fire safety games and activities which include being able to sit on a seat in a real fire truck.
Accommodations range from inexpensive to luxurious in Scottsdale. I’ve stayed at the moderately-priced Hampton, Fairfield or Sleep Inns. And, for a more luxurious surroundings then I recommend the Westin Kierland on Scottsdale Road and Greenway. The hotel invites you to bring along the four-legged member of your family. Hotel guests can make use of the adjacent golf course or the spa. One can also enjoy a dip in either the adultsonly or the family pool. And, I found that hotel rates are substantially reduced after the Memorial Day Weekend. If you’re a first-time visitor to Scottsdale, then go to the Scottsdale Convention and Visitors Bureau.
The people are more than happy to assist with any request. Their lobby is filled with pamphlets and brochures about the many types of activities that one can enjoy while visiting the Valley of the Sun.Their address is 6343 N. Scottsdale Road in the Galleria Building.