Phoenix With Kids: Pueblo Grande Archaeological Park and Carolina's Mexican Food

This is a much delayed post about my trip to Arizona back in December. To read more about Arizona, see related links at the bottom of this post.

We started our final day in Phoenix with a visit to the Pueblo Grande Museum and Archaeological Park. The museum showcases 1,500 year-old Hohokam village ruins and aims to educate visitors about Hohokam culture, it also gets high ratings from most guidebooks for being "kid friendly," in large part because the visitor's center has a number of hands-on exhibits. Unfortunately, we found that it was hard for preschoolers to participate in the exhibits because they were either high off the ground or required reading. Instead, we headed outside to visit the ruins themselves.

Grinding Corn at the Pueblo Grande Museum and Archeological Park in Phoenix

The highlight of the visit for the kids was the opportunity to grind corn the old fashioned way (after chasing off tens of aggressive pigeons - just as the Native Americans must have). I gave it a try too, and was surprised at what difficult work it was. Fine-Grained Corn Tortillas must have been a real luxury before the days of mechanized grinders.

The ruins themselves were a bit difficult for the kids. We were out in the hot open sun and with very little of the original ruins left, it was difficult to envision what the site would have been like. Still, for archaeological buffs, the excavated mounds and ruins must tell an interesting story about the people that once lived here.

Before we make the drive down to Tuscon, we decide to fill everyone up on Mexican food with the hope that the kids (but not the driver) will fall asleep in the car. There's just one catch... E thinks that Phoenix is the best place he's ever been in his entire life, and he's just not ready to leave. He dug in his heels as only a three year old can making us all miserable for what seemed like an eternity until finally hunger, or exhaustion or some well-placed bribe won out and he got in his seat (I've blocked the actual details from my pregnancy-addled memory). Sometimes there's just no amount of expectation-setting or perfect parenting that can avert a tired preschooler's meltdown, whether you're at home or not.

Menu at Carolina's Mexican Food in Phoenix

Luckily, I judge most days in large part on my stomach's well being. A nearby restaurant called "Carolina's" promised the lightest, thinnest homemade flour tortillas in Phoenix, and since I've never met a carb I didn't like, it seemed like a sure winner. Carolina's isn't a restaurant for someone who comes to Phoenix to enjoy the luxury resort experience. It's more the sort of place where you check twice to make sure your car doors are locked before you follow the crowds inside. Still, if good food is more important to you than presentation, this seems to be one of the most popular places in Phoenix to enjoy home-made Mexican food. I was so enamored of the rich, savory "Oaxacan" burrito - a blend of Beef Chorizo with Beans, Potatoes, Cheese that we made a second stop at Carolina's on our way back into Phoenix a few days later. The kids loved the light-as-air tortillas, smothered in butter and the rice and bean burritos. By the time we'd left, I'd almost forgotten (or at least repressed) the drama in the Pueblo Grande parking lot.

Filed Under: travel-stories

5 comments | Posted on March 3, 2009 | Save to del.icio.us

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