Twelve Mile Circle – An Appreciation of Unusual Places

Author: Twelve Mile Circle

  • Australasian Adventures, Part 3 (Vistas)

    I’ve always liked climbing to the heights, whether by foot, automobile or elevator. Fortunately the parts of New Zealand and Australia we visited included many such opportunities. Some were man-made while others appeared as natural features on the magnificent terrain. Most days brought plenty of chances to appreciate the scenery in all kinds of different…

  • Australasian Adventures, Part 2 (On the Waterfront)

    We rarely ventured more than a few kilometres from water. New Zealand made that pretty easy, being composed of islands after all. We also stuck to a rather narrow band of eastern Australia beginning with Sydney and driving north along the coast for about three hours. Almost every scenic vista we found included a body…

  • Australasian Adventures, Part 1 (Preparations and Arrival)

    Finally, after months of anticipation and planning, the time came for our trip to Australasia. I took suggestions from the Twelve Mile Circle audience and tried to incorporate them wherever I could. We ended up spending a week in New Zealand and a week in Australia. Those who follow the 12MC Twitter account already know…

  • Auckland Origins

    I wondered about the weirdest things while I planned my most recent trip. For instance, how did the largest city in New Zealand get its name? And why would anyone need to know that ahead of time? A thousand different details I needed to nail down and somehow that one insignificant notion became a concern.…

  • Rockies Loop, Part 6 (Breweries)

    I’ll wrap up the Rockies Loop adventure with one final article that probably won’t interest the majority of Twelve Mile Circle readers. Please feel free to skip this one if you like. I won’t mind. Then we’ll start with a new topic next week. Breweries and brewpubs grew in abundance in this area and of…

  • Rockies Loop, Part 5 (Sites)

    I always need at least one extra article to collect all the odds and ends that don’t fit anywhere else. Generally those involve locations or topics that might be a little off center or peculiar. In other words, they certainly fit the definition of things needing a Twelve Mile Circle visit, and maybe even worthy…

  • Rockies Loop, Part 4 (Elevation)

    Residents of Denver often call it the “Mile High City” because its downtown closely straddles the 5,280 foot (1,609 metre) barrier. The local baseball stadium even features a row of purple seats on its upper deck to mark the memorable elevation. While impressive to a flatland Easterner like me, it hardly compared to some of…

  • Rockies Loop, Part 3 (Towns)

    County counting scratched an important itch along my preferred route and it also offered an attractive side benefit; being able to stay in a lot of different Colorado towns. Each one displayed its own distinct personality. Admittedly I gained a skewed perspective at ski resorts without the snow or crowds although I didn’t have any…

  • Rockies Loop, Part 2 (Hikes)

    I did my best to stay active during our Rocky Mountains trip as I explained in the previous installment. The entire trip revolved around the outdoors. That became something of a gamble during a transitional period between seasons. Snow still covered higher elevations. Meanwhile, prevailing wind patterns threatened us with afternoon rainstorms more characteristic of…

  • Rockies Loop, Part 1 (Route)

    I took something of a stealth trip. Normally I’d announce my upcoming adventure to the Twelve Mile Circle crowd well in advance and ask for suggestions. This time I just went out on my own. I knew what I wanted to do. In fact, only subscribers of the 12MC Twitter learned about it, watching the…