Earlier today, my family and I went to the Casa Grande Ruins National Monument in Coolidge, Arizona. Coolidge is a pretty small town — less than 12,000 people in total. And it’s at least an hour away from any major city in Arizona. Also, this is hardly the most famous monument in Arizona, so suffice it to say we weren’t expecting too much. Really, it was just a fun random road trip on a holiday weekend.

Just as we finished eating our lunch at the picnic tables, the park announced that a new guided tour was starting in 5 minutes. That sounded like a good idea so we decided to join.

What followed was a vivid and dare I say gripping exposition on Hohokam culture some thousand years ago. Against the backdrop of what we later learned was a major architectural structure in a major city in a culture that has long since collapsed, this turned out to be a surprisingly engaging tour.

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This past week I had the pleasure of visiting my esteemed Gruntwork co-founder where he currently lives in Dublin, Ireland. I had a blast, it was awesome to work in person with Jim, and it was the first time I’ve been to Europe in about 15 years!

In theory, Irish culture and American culture aren’t much different. We both speak English as our primary language, we both eventually left the rule of the UK, and much of Ireland feels like a typical Western country. But there are some really interesting differences, too, and to make sure I don’t forget them, here they are!

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