The first governor of Arizona, George W.P. Hunt, upon his wife's death in 1931, built a pyramid in which to entomb her, and--the best part really--completely covered it in white ceramic bathroom tiles.
He, along with four other family members, was eventually buried here as well.
The hilltop, including this pyramid, were later absorbed into Phoenix's Papago Park and this ugly iron fence was added to protect the...tomb? pyramid? integrity of the bathroom tile?
There's a lovely little parking lot right below it and a number of interpretive plaques that tell you about the Governor and the love his people have for him. You can walk all around the tomb/pyramid and take photos and generally love the fact that the world is big and huge and weird.
Straight across from the pyramid is a natural wonder, affectionately named Hole in the Rock. It's a fitting name, too, since it's a hole. In a rock.
This too has a rocky but generally cactus-free trail up and around the back of the rock to a place where climbing up to the hole is quite simple, assuming one has sturdy legs and good shoes. I don't have a photo of the hole from a distance, which I see now is a mistake, as you can't tell how impressive this hole is up close.
You can, however, see how impressive the greyhound and the husband are. So that's something.
Look here for the far-away view that I should have taken while up on the hill of the tomb.
2 comments:
All the mountains in and around Phoenix are beautiful and have color and texture variations that are mesmerizing. Every time I drive by Papgo Park, however, I think it looks like big piles of dinosaur dung. Seriously. Think back to when you saw them. Aren't they weird in both color and texture? How did that happen?
hmm. okay, but it's really INTERESTING dinosaur dung.
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