The End: Alphabet Soup

And so I've reached the end of this odyssey with Alphabe-Thursday.  What a challenge it had been at times to come up with a creative post for the current letter of the alphabet.    I've enjoyed this journey with you, my readers and fellow Alphabe-Thursdayers, sharing our posts and lives.   Thanks, Jenny! (You can click on any of the following links--in blue--to go to that post.)

 

A   Arch Rock, Valley of Fire

B  B is for... Bicycle, of course! 

C  C is for... Cats, of course!

D  Desert Delights

E  Earnest (little white kitty)

F  Freedom Center  →

G  g is for... glass, Chihuly glass!

H  Hummus (a recipe with sauteed carrots and onions)

I island -- Sint Maarten, Netherland Antilles/Saint Martin, French West Indies

J  ....journal and journey....

K  Kauai

L  Lush and Lava (Kauai, part 2)

M Mushroom House (a fantastical house created by Cincinnati architect Terry Brown)

N  Nine Ns (cats--cute)

O  Oliver's Guide to Oases

P  Pi (and Daniel Tammet, autistic savant ↑)

Q  Sail Away #2 (quotes included!)

R  an early love (a very short and incomplete reading memoir)

 

S  a special party (sculpture, too!)

T  tiny turtle →

U  umbrellas

V  Vacation-Cayman Islands

W  wire

X  xeric

Y  Beautiful Yosemite

Z  Z Cloud

Whew!  

THE END

Well, not quite.  There was Rainbow Summer School and my post for the color

Violet.

Thus truly ends my post for "alphabet soup," linking up with Jenny Matlock's meme Alphabe-Thursday.  A new round will be starting next week.  Be sure to visit Jenny's blog ...off my tangent..., and link up.  It's so much fun and you'll be privileged to meet many folks and read so many wonderful posts.   Amazingly, Jenny visits EACH blog EVERY week!!
(This week's link is HERE.)

photos by me © 2008-2011

xeric

dry or desert like conditions, having very little moisture with average annual rainfall of less than 10 inches.

Valley of Fire, Nevada

Nevada's oldest state park, located in the Mojave Desert and dedicated in 1935, covers almost 35,000 acres.  Its name is derived from the red sandstone formations created by ancient shifting sand dunes.  Average annual rainfall is about 4 inches.

Grand Canyon, Arizona (taken from the North Rim)

This National Park, covering over 1.2 million acres on the Colorado Plateau, is also a World Heritage Site.  Consisting of several major ecosystems, great biodiversity exists here.The inner canyon is xeric, receiving only about 9 inches of rain a year.

 

Sonoran Desert (Phoenix area) 

One of the largest and hottest deserts in North America, covering 120,000 square miles just south of the Mojave Desert, the Sonoran Desert can be found in the US states of Arizona and California and the Mexican states of Baja California, Baja California Sur, and Sonora.  A unique variety of flora and fauna exist here such as the saguaro cacti seen in the above photo.  Average annual rainfall varies from 3 inches to 16 inches.  Many areas are xeric such as  Phoenix with just over 8 inches of rainfall per year.  (Arizona is the only state that has all four North American deserts--Sonoran, Mojave, Chihuahuan, and Great Basin.)

Come join in the fun at Jenny Matlock's Alphabe-Thursday.  You will be enlightened, charmed, and have some plain ole fun!  See more entries HERE.  This week our letter is "X."   
   


LINKS:

Valley of Fire:

official website
my post "Still Exploring"

Grand Canyon:

official website
Sonoran Desert:  
Desert USA 
biomes of the Sonoran Desert

photos by me © 2009 and 2010      

Arch Rock, Valley of Fire

Arch Rock, Valley of Fire 

Valley of Fire is Nevada's oldest and largest state park located in Overton, 55 miles NE of Las Vegas off Interstate 15.  The park, dedicated in 1935, derives its name from the beautiful red sandstone rock of the Mojave Desert.  The lovely formations in this park were created by shifting sand dunes.  Uplifting, faulting, and extensive erosion have created the landscape of today.

This is a fun weekly meme, under the direction of Jenny Matlock.  However, this week, Mrs. Matlock's younger, more fashionable, but crabbier sister is in charge!    Come and join HERE.  Here is Jenny Matlock's submission, A is for Acupuncture.

This week, we honor the letter"A."  If you click on the link above, you will discover so many creative takes on this letter.  Now go visit!  

Continuing with the Valley of Fire, here are a couple more photos:

The red rocks often appear to be on fire when reflecting the sun's rays.  The sandstone formations are made of sand grains that are almost pure silica.  The "red" color occurs when quantities of iron are present, producing a rust like stain.

petroglyphs:  rock art made by carving into the surface of the stone.  These were probably made by the Anasazi farmers from the nearby fertile Maopa Valley, somewhere between 300 BC and 1150 AD.  

LINK  to a past post on Valley of Fire which has a couple links for more information on this beautiful park.

I am also linking up with Gemma's Weekend Nature.

photos by me © 2010

still exploring

on the road from Las Vegas to Hurricane, Utah

Valley of Fire, Nevada (Nevada's oldest state park)

Beehives, Valley of Fire 

LINKS to Valley of Fire:
Nevada Department of Parks website
Desert USA website
photos by me  copyright 2010