Twelve Mile Circle – An Appreciation of Unusual Places

Category: Cities/Towns

  • All Those Modes of Transportation

    I brought my elementary-aged son to “bring your child to work day” back in April. I wasn’t sure he was going to enjoy the event but he had a fine time. And I learned from it too. It was wonderful to see my very familiar office space through the eyes of someone who had never…

  • Bill Williams’ Fingerprints

    Peering at a random spot on a map — one of my favorite hobbies — showed a river with a name so ordinary it seemed unusual. I realize that’s an oxymoron so bear with me a little while and hear me out. Rivers often carry the names of the topography that surrounds it. Sometimes it’s…

  • Definitely Halfway

    I think it was back in January when I focused on the little town of Halfway, Oregon. I was pretty impressed when I thought they’d named it that way because of the nearby 45th parallel of latitude north — i.e., halfway between the equator and the North Pole. That turned out to be a false…

  • Intertwining Threads

    I’m predisposed to look for patterns and there are times when they come together better than others. This is one of those times although it may seem to have a bit of a stream-of-consciousness feel to it. Heading to San Diego I left for Dulles Airport on Monday morning for a week of work in…

  • Mistaken Identity, Part 3

    I’ve called the final installment of my series on geographic mistaken identities, Baltimore, DC. A couple of comments on the earlier articles referenced people making the wrong assumptions about airports. This is another instance of that phenomenon so I won’t dwell on it for long. Instead I’ll keep it short. That way I have room…

  • Mistaken Identity, Part 2

    I call the second case of mistaken geographic identity the “Invasion of a Maryland Beach Town!” This instance of mistaken geography happened long before my birth, and all the way back in 1941. It became Howder family legend. And it will undoubtedly pass along to our progeny for generations to come. Some families bestow royal…

  • Another New Visitor Roundup

    My recent article on Running the Table with visitors from the United States reminded me that I haven’t provided a new visitor roundup in quite awhile. That’s where I recognize and salute an initial visitor from a country that has not previously sent a viewer to the website. It’s becoming increasingly unusual. Nonetheless the number…

  • Multi-Word Capital Cities

    So I get strange queries. I noticed one recently from somebody who wanted to know the name of each national capital city composed of two or more words. No, I didn’t try to figure out the logic. I have no idea why they wanted to find this. If people ever learned to do things like…

  • I Went Backstage at Disney World

    I like peeking behind the curtain to see how things really work. I love taking train rides for example. They allow me to see into people’s back yards and observe how they really live behind the polished veneer that faces the road. One can learn a lot about someone from the junk that accumulates out…

  • Saint Martin Observations

    I led-off with Saint Martin geo-oddities as one would expect on Twelve Mile Circle. However, with that obligation safely behind me I can now begin to act more like a “normal” tourist, or as close to normal as I can muster. I’m not typical when it comes to holiday travels, as you’ve undoubtedly learned while…