Maricopa County Historic and Interpretive Sites
Expedition Camps #27 and 28: These camps were most likely located within the boundaries of the Gila Bend Indian Reservation, home to the San Lucy District of the Tohono O’odham today. Most of the Reservation area is under management of the Army Corps of Engineers for the Painted Rocks Reservoir. Fortaleza, an important spiritual site to the San Lucy District, is located on top of a volcanic escarpment on the Gila Bend Indian reservation in the vicinity of the town of Gila Bend. The site is within the expedition corridor and may be near the villages visited by Anza. The site was probably settled about 1200 A.D. by migrants from the Tucson area after it was abandoned by the Hohokam. The village contained three large reinforced adobe ceremonial chambers and rooms grouped in social units of two or three houses.
Painted Rocks: The Painted Rocks petroglyph site is within the historic corridor. Since the site is under BLM management, it will be a federal component of the trail, offering interpretation of the Anza trek as well as many of the other historic uses of the site and trail. The site offers a fine example of early petroglyphs etched on a small mound of black rocks. It can be reached from Interstate 8 west of Gila Bend, exit 102. Camping and water are available.
Expedition Camp #31: The ADOT Interstate 8 roadside rest at Sentinel provides an opportunity to interpret the Agua Caliente camp and to orient the traveler to the Gila River camps.
Courtesey NPS