Twelve Mile Circle – An Appreciation of Unusual Places

Category: Latitude

  • Hawaii, Part 8 (Big Island: South Point)

    We had one more corner of the “Big Island” of Hawaii left to explore before moving on to Oahu. It was a late addition to the schedule. The younger kid who is pursuing an undergraduate degree in geology wanted to see an unusual formation. However, this request didn’t materialize until we were actually in Hawaii.…

  • Hawaii, Part 6 (Big Island: Mauna Kea)

    Mauna Kea on Hawaii’s Big Island is a massive shield volcano that rises majestically 13,803 feet (4,200 metres) above sea level. By some calculations it’s also the tallest mountain in the world if measured from its base deep below the ocean. Mauna Kea formed over the Hawaiian Hotspot over the last million years, still an…

  • Finish Ohio & More, Part 1 (Swipe Up)

    It’s been a work in progress. Slowly, ever slowly, I chipped away at Ohio counties as my older kid attended school in Michigan. I took a different route through Ohio multiple times, collecting counties and adding them to my list. So this was, I think, the sixth trip involving Ohio, all dutifully recorded on Twelve…

  • Borderland, Part 3 (Point Pelee)

    Canada’s Point Pelee National Park became one of my priority destinations ages ago. Now, finally, after all these years I could visit it in person. I was not about to miss my opportunity. It’s not difficult to get there, but for me at least it involved the added complication of an international border. Luckily, now…

  • Interior Alaska, Part 6 (Dalton Highway)

    We made it to Coldfoot by airplane and now we started the long drive back to Fairbanks. It seemed daunting. Most of it would follow the Dalton Highway starting at Mile 175 (route), with the remainder on the Elliott Highway. The James W. Dalton Highway is a rugged working road, built in 1974 specifically to…

  • Interior Alaska, Part 5 (Coldfoot)

    I’ve always wanted to travel north of the Arctic Circle. I came pretty close to it in Iceland but even there I fell a few degrees short. So this was a major objective of the latest journey. My wife got her half-marathon in Fairbanks, I got my arctic visit, and we both shared our bucket…

  • Interior Alaska, Part 2 (Downtown Fairbanks)

    We rented an Airbnb house in the historic part of Fairbanks. However historic doesn’t necessarily mean old because Fairbanks only goes back to the beginning of the 20th Century. So a lot of the earlier structures are 1930’s or 1940’s wood-frame homes. A lot look older than their age. The elements are harsh in Interior…

  • Asia-Pacific, Part 7 (South Korea: The DMZ)

    The Korean War never actually ended. Rather, it froze in place at an armistice line on July 27, 1953. So there’s a multi-decade ceasefire, a truce, but no agreed-upon resolution of hostilities. A four kilometre wide Demilitarized Zone acts as a buffer between North and South Korea near the 38th parallel north. It crosses the…

  • Mackinac’s Orbit, Part 5 (Eastern U.P.)

    Staying in St. Ignace for a week was a whole lot cheaper than staying on Mackinac Island. It was also a lot easier to use as a base for exploring the eastern end of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. Once, many years ago, I drove along the southern edge of the U.P. and stayed overnight. Other than…

  • Mackinac’s Orbit, Part 1 (Up North)

    I had good reason to travel up to Mackinac Island in Michigan, a place sandwiched between its Upper and Lower Peninsulas. My older child worked at an internship there this summer, a requirement for a University degree. You know, the kid who loves zoos, designed a town, and noticed all those modes of transportation? Yes,…