Date: September 24, 2009
Free Entrance and a Sneak Preview of “The National Parks – America’s Best Idea”
at Casa Grande Ruins National Monument on National Public Lands Day, September 26
Coolidge, AZ - Casa Grande Ruins National Monument will offer free visitor admission on Saturday, September 26 for National Public Lands Day. Superintendent Karl Cordova invites everyone to come visit the Monument stating: “This is the day that we honor our public lands and those who participate in thousands of volunteer projects across the country. It is also the only time that entrance fees are waived on all federal public lands.”
As part of the special day festivities, Casa Grande Ruins will present a sneak preview of the new Ken Burns film, “The National Parks - America’s Best Idea.” This series about the story and splendor of America’s National Parks will begin airing on PBS stations on September 27. Casa Grande Ruins’ preview will include the first time showing of Ken Burn’s special featurette, “The Boss.” Probably no one better personified the National Park Service spirit than Frank Pinkley, superintendent of Casa Grande Ruins and eventually all other southwest monuments, from 1901 until his death on the job in 1940.
Casa Grande Ruins National Monument was the first archeological site to be set aside by the U.S. government in 1892 and sparked the beginning of the archeological resource preservation movement in America. The ruins and objects of prehistoric interest at Casa Grande Ruins National Monument exemplify the adaptation of ancient people to the Sonoran desert. They engineered vast canal irrigation systems, using the nearby Gila and Salt Rivers to build one of the most extensive agricultural desert societies in North American. Their architectural sophistication is reflected by the structures at Casa Grande Ruins that have survived the harsh desert conditions for almost a thousand years.
So come on out to Casa Grande Ruins for a free visit, a free movie preview, and a chance to learn more about your National Public Lands and how you can “lend a hand to help the land.” Casa Grande Ruins National Monument is open from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. daily. Additional information for Casa Grande Ruins—including directions—is available on the monument’s website, http://www.nps.gov/cagr, or you may call (520) 723-3172.
