State Places Challenge -- A to Z

[RoadDog]

The Chicago Tribune ran an article titled "A look at Arizona, from A to Z" by Gary A. Warner.
It was re-published on September 9th on the Orange County Register (Gary's regular gig).

Each entry had a paragraph about it. Here goes:

A- Apache
B- Ballooning
C- Colorado River
D- Davis-Monthan- military aircraft boneyard
E- Earp- as in Wyatt, Morgan , and OK
F- Flagstaff
G- Glendale- Cactus League action
H- Hubbell Trading Post- straight out of the Old West
I- Interstates- recommend you get off some, especially I-40- get on 66
J- Jack Rabbit Trading Post- a Route 66 original tourist trap
K- Kartchner Caverns- "discovered" in 1974, kept secret until 1988
L- Lowell Observatory- where poor old Pluto discovered in 1930
M- Mesas
N- North Rim- of what?
O- Oatman- burros and gunfights, what elkse could you ask for?
P- Pizzeria Blanco- NY Times called it "Pizza Nirvana"
Q- Quartzsite- rock-hunting paradise, rock shows, bluegrass, chili
R- Rafting
S- Skywalk- Wheeeee!!!
T- Trains- Southwest Chief, Sunset Limited, Grand Canyon Railroad
U- Unit, Big- Must've had hard time coming up with this one
V- Valley Ho Hotel- retro-cool Scottsdale place with $500 room rates in winter
W- Window Rock- Administrative center of Navajo Nation
X- X-Diamond Ranch- low-key dude ranch
Y- Yavapai County- home of Arcosanti, an architecture-ecology experiment
Z- Zagat- popular pollsters

Keep on Down that Two Lane Highway. --RoadDog

[Mark Sedenquist]

Wow! This has turned into something really fun & creative. We are planning to work our way through all 50 USA states, 31 states in Mexico, 10 Canadian provinces, 3 of the Canadian territories and 1 Territory of France. You are very much encouraged to join in -- this is a huge task! (Technically, Greenland and the nations of the Caribbean and Central America could be considered part of North America -- but they are excluded on this list because they can not be reached (easily) by means of a terrestrial-based vehicle)
Here are the states/provinces that we are still missing...
USA: Done!
Canada: Done!
Mexico: Aquascalientes, Baja Sur, Campeche, Chiapas, Couma, Durango, Guanajuto, Guerrero, Hidalgo, Jalisco, Mexico, Michoacan, Morelos, Nayrit, Nuevo Leon, Oaxaca, Puebla, Queretmo, Quintano Roo, San Luis Potosi, Sinaloa, Tabasco, Tamulipas, Tlaxcala, Yucatan, Zacatecas

Here, therefore is a working index to the postings: (74 lists and counting....)

Alabama -- Posted by AZBuck, September 3, 2007

Alaska -- Posted by Gen, August 20, 2007

Alberta -- Posted by Editor, December 10, 2007

Arizona -- Posted by RoadDog May 16, 2007

**Arizona #2 -- Posted by Gerald Thurman, July 5, 2007

Arkansas -- Posted by AZBuck, October 31, 2007

Baja California Norte -- Posted by Editor, June 12, 2007

British Columbia -- Posted by AZBuck, January 13, 2008

California -- Posted by Larrison May 21, 2007

**California #2 -- Posted by Gerald Thurman, July 10, 2007

Chihuahua -- Posted by Gen, September 4, 2007

Colorado -- Posted by Gen, August 20, 2007

Connecticut -- Posted by AZBuck, December 2, 2007

Delaware -- Posted by AZBuck May 19, 2007

District of Columbia -- Posted by Editor, December 1, 2007

Florida -- Posted by UKCraig, October 5, 2007

Georgia -- Posted by AZBuck, June 8, 2007

Hawaii -- Posted by Editor, November 6, 2007

Idaho -- Posted by Editor, May 20, 2007

Illinois -- Posted by RoadDog, May 18, 2007

**Illinois #2 -- Posted by AZBuck, January 7, 2008

**Chicago, Illinois -- Posted by Etoiles, August 3, 2007

Indiana -- Posted by Butlerguy03, November 29, 2007

Iowa -- Posted by AZBuck, May 19, 2007

Kansas -- Posted by AZBuck, November 22, 2007

Kentucky -- Posted by AZBuck, September 1, 2007

Louisiana -- Posted by lhuff, May 21, 2007

Maine -- Posted by AZBuck, May 26, 2007

Manitoba -- Posted by Gen, August 20, 2007

Maryland -- Posted by AZBuck, May 21, 2007

Massachusetts -- Posted by Mass Tim, May 28, 2007

Mexico -- usually we don't do countries -- but here is one... Posted by Quebec Gen, October 22, 2008.

Michigan -- Posted by AZBuck, September 11, 2007

Minnesota -- Posted by Midwest Michael, May 28, 2007

Mississippi -- Posted by MissMarjorie, August 17, 2007

Missouri -- Posted by AZBuck, September 27, 2007

Montana -- Posted by Editor, June 5, 2007

Nebraska -- Posted by AZBuck, May 29, 2007

Nevada -- Posted by Editor, May 18, 2007

New Brunswick -- Posted by Gen, August 14, 2007

New Foundland & Labrador -- Posted by Gen, August 3, 2007

New Hampshire -- Posted by AZBuck, May 24, 2007

New Jersey -- posted by mdennis, August 17, 2007

New Mexico -- Posted by AZBuck, August 19, 2007

**New Mexico #2 -- Posted by Howard, March 28, 2008

New York -- Posted by AZBuck, May 28, 2007

North Carolina -- Posted by AZBuck, August 14, 2007

North Dakota -- Posted by AZBuck, November 04, 2007

Northwest Territories -- Posted by Gen, August 5, 2007

Nova Scotia -- Posted by Gen, September 27, 2007

Nunavut -- Posted by Gen, August 14, 2007

Ohio -- Posted by AZBuck, September 24, 2007

Oklahoma -- Posted by AZBuck, January 4, 2008

Ontario -- Posted by Syv, January 18, 2008

Oregon -- Posted by Judy, May 18, 2007

Pennsylvania -- Posted by AZBuck, September 18, 2007

Prince Edward Island -- Posted by Gen, October 14, 2007

Quebec -- Posted by Gen, August 3rd

Rhode Island -- Posted by Gen, September 4, 2007

Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon -- Posted by Gen, August 14 [**This is the single French Territory in North America**]

Saskatchewan -- Posted by AZBuck, March 7, 2008

Sonora -- Posted by Gen, August 5, 2007

South Carolina -- Posted by AZBuck, October 6, 2007

South Dakota -- Posted by Midwest Michael, September 26, 2007

Tennessee -- Posted by AZBuck, October 10, 2007

Texas -- Posted by Editor, September 27, 2007

Utah -- Posted by Editor, October 5, 2007

Vermont -- Posted by Gen, August 3, 2007

Virginia -- Posted by AZBuck, September 2, 2007

Washington -- Posted by Arizona Brad, May 18, 2007

** Olympic Penisula -- Posted by Judy, May 19, 2007

West Virginia -- Posted by AZBuck, September 16, 2007

Wisconsin -- Posted by Midwest Michael, May 21, 2007

Wyoming -- Posted by Editor, May 24, 2007

Yukon -- Posted by Gen, August 20, 2007

*** USA -- Favorite Places -- Posted by UKCraig, May 21, 2007

[RoadDog]

Well, Mark, I'm just gonna have to hold you accountable for a lack of sleep I had yesterday.

I woke up at 4 AM and started thing of Illinois A to Z as you suggested, then couldn't get back to sleep. I hate when that happens. Too much thinkin', not enough sleepin'. I started off with Illinois things in general, then realized I had a lot of food entries so will go with that.

I have all but five letters of Illinois food and places to eat. I'll talk to friends the next several days and see if I can get those elusive letters: N, Q, U, V, and Y.

Ariston in Litchfield, great Route 66 food since the 1930s- same family, third generation.

Deep dish pizza as at Pizzeria Uno and Duo.

K is for Ray Kroc, the founder of the McDonald's chain we see everywhere. The very first Ray Kroc store was in Des Plaines; hey, that's another D. You can still visit it where there is a museum.

Normal -- the home of the first Steak 'n Shake so there's my N.

A couple of our intrepid A to Z'ers have stepped up to complete Illinois. Therefore look at the following:
Illinois A to Z by AZBuck
Chicago A to Z by Etoiles

Keep on Eating Down that Illinois Two Lane Highway. --RoadDog

[RoadTripper Brad]

Washington!

Er, almost.. hopefully Judy can help.
A- Apples
B- Boeing
C- Cascade Mountains and the Columbia River
D- Dams
E- Evergreens
F- Fishing
G- The Gorge at George Amphitheater
H- Hood Canal
I- Interstate 5
J- Straight of Juan de Fuca
K- Kite Flying
L- Lewis and Clark
M- Microsoft, and the Mariners
N- North Cascades National Park
O- Olympic Peninsula, National Park, and Mountains
P- Pacific Coast
Q- Quinault Tribe
R- Mt. Ranier, and Port
S- Space Needle, Seattle, Spokane, Salmon, and the San Juans
T- Tri-Cities
U- Lake Union
V- Vancouver (the not-Canadian one)
W- Wenatchee, the Apple Capital of the World
X- X-Box (created by Microsoft) (suggested by Judy)
Y- Yakima, One of the Metro Cities.
Z- Zillah, just down I-82 from Yakima

-Brad

[click here for the index of posts]

[PNW Judy]

What a cool idea. I was mulling Washington state stuff and then found you beat me to it. Pretty sad that Mark had to add Zillah though. It's just down the road from your old stomping grounds!

I'm desperately trying to think of something for X. I even found this cool website where you can search for Washington place names. Nada. Here's the best I can come up with and it's pretty boring. Washington state is part of Region X for federal government funding distribution like Dept. of Health & Human Services, Housing & Urban Development (HUD), FEMA, etc.

So, until we can find something better, add Region X. I'll keep looking for something that actually sounds fun!

Hey...just thought of something. The X-Box video game is from Microsoft and Microsoft is in Washington! So...add X-Box and the list is complete! :-)

[Mark Sedenquist]

OK, I decided to list A to Z of places I have been to.... (or close enough to see it, in the case of the peaks mentioned)

A – Amargosa Valley (home of the some the best horse grass in the west)
B – Battle Born (Official Slogan of Nevada) (OK, so not a place -- but I like it anyway)
C – Carson City (State Capital)
D – Double Diamond (Just down the canyon from Virginia City
double points for alliteration?)
E – Eldorado Mountains (famous gold mining area near the Colorado River)
F – Frenchman Mountain (east of Las Vegas)
G – Gods Pocket Peak (10,184 feet tall in the infamous Jarbidge Wilderness area)
H – Hog Ranch Mountain (Granite Range, west of Black Rock Desert)
I – Ione Valley (east of the Fallon Naval Air Station)
J – Jackass Flats (Area 25 on the Nevada Test Site – Nuclear Rockets test facility)
K – Kane Springs Valley (site of some “secret” fossil remains…)
L – Las Vegas (need we say more?)
M – Mount Prometheus (8,058 feet) just east of Austin, NV
N – New York Mountains (between Searchlight and I-15 in southern Nevada)
O – Old Las Vegas Mormon State Park (first white settlers in Las Vegas)
P – Pahranagat National Wildlife Refuge (our usual lunch stop on this road)
Q – Quinn Canyon Wilderness ( SW of Ely)
R – Red Rock (another double pointer? Sandstone cliffs just west of Las Vegas)
S – Spring Mountain State Park – where we saw a magnificent stag!
T – The Strip (did you know this is an official scenic byway?)
U – Ungina Wongo (7,821 peak) just south of the Duck Valley Indian Reservation
V – Valley of Fire (One of my favorite places for sunset photography)
W – Wee Thump Joshua Tree Wilderness (NV-164 between Searchlight & Nipton)
X – XScream (the ride on top of the Stratosphere Tower in Las Vegas)
Y – Yucca Mountain (coming soon – nuclear waste R US)
Z – Zephyr Cove (at Lake Tahoe on US-50)

OK -- Gauntlet is tossed -- who has the next one?

Mark

[Click here for the index of states]

[PNW Judy]

...I'll start one for next door, Oregon, and grab that gauntlet from ya!

Astoria/Ashland/Albany
Bend
Columbia River Gorge/Corvallis/Crater Lake
Depoe Bay/Drain
Eugene
Florence/Fossil
Gold Beach/Grants Pass
Hood River
Ironside
John Day Fossil Beds
Klamath Falls
Lincoln City
Medford/McMinnville/Madras
Newport
Oregon Dunes NRA/Oregon Caves
Portland/Pendleton/Prineville/Powell's Books in Portland
Quartz Mountain (in the Umpqua National Forest)
Roseburg
Salem/Sisters
Tigard
Umpqua National Forest
Vale/Vortex
Warrenton/Woodburn/Walkport/Wizard Island
Xanadu Systems - a bogus business in Oregon targeted by the Dept. of Justice.....yeah, OK, I'm reaching again. X-named fun stuff is only found in places like Vegas. :-)
Yachats
Zien Hong Chinese Restaurant in Portland

Tossing the gauntlet! Who's gonna catch it?

[click here for the index to states]

[Mark Sedenquist]

I found several businesses, with x names -- but, I agree that place names rarely start with a x.

Good job on Oregon. I may tackle California next or maybe Idaho.... (I am hoping Larrison or other Californian steps up for CA)

Mark

[AZBuck]

Where I grew up.

In an area smaller than one of Arizona's or Washington's or Nevada's counties:

Assawoman Bay: Together with Indian River Inlet, assures that Delaware's beach resorts have a 'bay side' and an 'ocean side'
Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge: Wetlands on the Atlantic Flyway
Cooch's Bridge: Site of the first use of the Stars and Stripes in battle
Dover International Speedway: Yes, Laura, there is NASCAR racing in Delaware
Ebright Azimuth: At 442 or 448 feet above sea level (depending on which report you read), the highest point in the state
Forts Delaware and Dupont: Guarding the Delaware River
Georgetown: And its historic Return Day
Harrington: Site of the State Fair
Indian River Lifesaving Station: An outpost of the United States Lifesaving Service, precursor to the Coast Guard
Johnson Victrola Museum: Your great-grandfather's iPod
Kalmar Nyckel: Delaware's tall ship
Lewes: The first town in the first state
Milford Neck Preserve: Coastal forest and shorebirds
New Castle: Delaware's first capital, and still charming
Old Dover Days: Delaware's current capital celebrates its past
Punkin Chunkin: Must be seen to be believed
Quiet Resorts: Bethany Beach, South Bethany, and Fenwick Island; Family friendly beaches
Rehoboth Beach: The nation's summer capital
Slaughter Beach: Not all beaches are on the ocean
Trap Pond State Park: Access to Delaware's swamp
University Museums: Art and Mineralogy, oddly enough
Vineyards: OK - it's not Napa Valley, but tours and tastings are free
Woodland Ferry: I am particularly fond of such anachronistic water crossings
Xylophone Institute: Just in case you needed a place to practice your ragtime chops
Yacht Registration: Delaware's tax laws are not just for corporations
Zwaanendael Museum: Newer than it looks, but full of great old stuff

[click here for the index to states]

[PNW Judy]

Gosh, Buck, you really raised the stakes!

How in the heck did that bay get named Assawoman?