Twelve Mile Circle – An Appreciation of Unusual Places

Category: Roads

  • Skyline Drive – North District

    Skyline Drive hugs the crest of Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains for 105 miles (169 kilometres), down the length of Shenandoah National Park. I’ve traveled every section of it, in whole or in part several times, as recently as 2022. So it felt like I rejoined an old friend as we undertook a day-trip from our…

  • Finish Ohio & More, Part 3 (Swipe Down)

    Michigan was fun but now I needed to drive through Ohio for the last bit of unfinished business. Only three counties out of 88 remained unvisited in Ohio, aligned in a single contiguous row heading due south. It felt like bowling pins lined up for an easy spare. So look out Paulding, Van Wert, and…

  • Washington Co., Maryland; Day 2

    The pressure was off once I flipped the status of Washington County to “overnight” on my County Counting list. Officially it became Overnight County #205. Now I could concentrate on exploring beyond Hagerstown and further into the countryside. Hancock I’ve always loved driving through Hancock on the western side of Washington County. I’ve mentioned it…

  • Buc-ee’s Northernmost Outpost

    I’ve always been a sucker for a decent roadside attraction. It doesn’t even have to make sense, and in fact sometimes it’s even better when it doesn’t. So of course I added Buc-ee’s to my travel plans when they opened an outpost a few months ago in Mt. Crawford, Virginia (map). This chain of convenience…

  • Interior Alaska, Part 8 (Memorable Signs)

    I’ve discussed a range of attractions from Interior Alaska in the previous seven articles. Today I’m taking a more lighthearted approach. Oftentimes I encounter fascinating, memorable or amusing signage, and for some reason I like to take photographs of them. So here are some of the best examples that highlight and illustrate the trip. Alaskan…

  • Interior Alaska, Part 7 (Richardson Highway & More)

    Next we explored the one remaining direction outward from Fairbanks that we hadn’t seen before, heading towards the southeast on the Richardson Highway. This day-trip took us about a hundred miles down to Delta Junction, where we turned around and came back. I’ll describe points of interest along the route sequentially starting from Fairbanks. In…

  • 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 4 (Parks Highway)

    Fairbanks is by far the most populated area of Interior Alaska so it made a great base for launching day trips. Our first adventure led southwest on the Parks Highway. I assumed Denali National Park and Preserve and the Denali State Park influenced the highway’s name. However, it actually referred to George Parks, an Alaska…

  • 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…