Park of the Canals

This morning when I woke up, I lay there thinking, "What chores should I get done before the heat of the day arrives? (predicting 108).   I slid out of bed, and into some shorts, a tshirt and my tennies, brushed my teeth, then on the spur of the moment grabbed my purse, my camera and my GPS, bottle of water from the fridge and headed out the door to find Park of the Canals.  (Turns out, its very local!)

Living in the Valley of the Sun, with all its myriad of desert landscaping, one cannot escape the history that lives here.  Every time I venture out, I am in awe and wonder at how they lived here so long ago when it appears so desolate.  And yet, if you look close, it isn't nearly as desolate as it seems.  Plants and animals find a way to survive, along with the people bold enough to call this "home". 

The Hohokam engineered large and sophisticated canal systems, creating a productive agricultural society that spanned many centuries. Their achievements in irrigation engineering are among the most impressive and most enduring ever constructed using preindustrial technology.  From A.D. 600 to 1450, the prehistoric Hohokam constructed one of the largest and most sophisticated irrigation networks ever created.  

The great achievement of the Hohokam lay in their ability to manage the harsh desert landscape for the resources they required to eat, trade, and produce stunning pieces of shell and ceramic art. They did not simply subsist in the Salt and Gila River Valleys—they thrived on a varied diet of corn, jackbeans, tepary beans, lima beans, squash, barley, and amaranth. They grew cotton, gourds, and tobacco for textiles, art, and possibly ceremonial use.


Today, you can see many of the remnants of the extensive canals left by the Hohokam culture.  As I walked through "Park of the Canals" in Mesa, AZ, I found myself pondering those old tribal ways, the hard work they did, just to keep living day to day.  Shutting out city noises, I let myself imagine an early spring morning, everyone out working hard at their task, whether it be wielding a stick to break up the dirt, scooping the dirt into a basket, or hauling that basket of dirt out of the canal.  I also caught myself imagining what it must have looked like with life- giving water flowing in the canals.  (With monsoon season coming up, perhaps I'll be able to catch glimpse of that by heading over to the park on a rainy afternoon.)  Out beyond the park's trail, an old stone house.  Only found one reference to it online, dating it in the late 1860s pioneer home.