Day Trippers from PebbleCreek around the bend

Lance Motta-Vilensky

Along the Gila River’s 600 mile journey across Arizona, there’s a great bend in the river where it traverses around the Gila Mountains. Around that bend is the tiny town of Gila Bend. An old stagecoach stop once called the “crossroads of the Southwest,” two modern day arteries, AZ 85 and I-8, intersect at Gila Bend. It’s easy for 21st century travelers passing through this unassuming town to see it only as a place to stop for fast food or gas, but Gila Bend contains a treasure trove of history. A visit to the Gila Bend Museum reveals the history and artifacts of the native Pima people, the Mexicans and the Europeans who followed. The nearby Gatlin Site is an archeological park where visitors can walk on ground littered with shards of ancient pottery while viewing Hohokam platform mounds and modern-day replications of pit houses. The Gila Bend 9/11 Memorial Park is located in the center of town where AZ-85 is called Pima Street. The park contains a 4,000 pound steel beam from the World Trade Center and, resting in this tiny town, it symbolizes how every American heart was touched on that day – and forever. Less than a one hour drive from PebbleCreek, don’t miss the tiny town around the bend.