Twelve Mile Circle – An Appreciation of Unusual Places

Category: Water

  • Tweed River & Mt. Warning

    Along the Water (October 1997) Our next adventure took us south of Brisbane, through the “Gold Coast” and Surfer’s Paradise, and back over the border into New South Wales (map). When we left Sydney earlier in our trip, New South Wales and Queensland were on the same time. However in the meantime, New South Wales…

  • Mississippi River Lock & Dam Number 4

    Between Alma, Wisconsin and Kellogg, Minnesota, USA (June 2009) The United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) operates a series of twenty seven locks and dams along the Upper Mississippi River between St. Paul, Minnesota and Granite City, Illinois (near St. Louis). Lock and Dam Number 4 is one of the furthest upstream, as signified…

  • Apostle Islands / Bayfield Peninsula Index

    Index of Pages from the Visit to Wisconsin’s Apostle Islands (2007) Few areas can rival the natural beauty of the Apostle Island and the Bayfield Peninsula. The state of Wisconsin borders Lake Superior only briefly but this mighty wedge takes full advantage of its limited coastline. The islands are a national treasure full of rocky…

  • Visiting the City of Bayfield

    Bayfield, Wisconsin, USA (August 2007) Bayfield (map), the Apostle Islands gateway, owes its identity to Admiral Henry Wolsey Bayfield. He charted much of the western Great Lakes in the 1820’s as a Royal Navy Surveyor. That included Chequamegon Bay and areas surrounding present-day Bayfield and Madeline Island. When the Bayfield Land Company platted their town…

  • Mawikwe Sea Caves

    Apostle Islands National Lakeshore; Bayfield County, Wisconsin, USA (August 2007) Sea caves adorn several points along the Apostle Islands and the nearby mainland shore of Lake Superior. Sailors, sea kayakers and other adventurers flock to northern Devils Island, Swallow Point on Sand Island, and Mawikwe Bay along the Bayfield Peninsula, to explore these natural wonders…

  • Big Bay on Madeline Island

    Ashland County, Wisconsin, USA (August 2007) With the exception of the immediate boundaries of La Pointe, the most popular spots on Madeline Island were the adjacent state and town park along Big Bay’s sandy hook. “Popular” was a relative term however. We never felt crowded anywhere on the island. We found Big Bay State Park…

  • Little Sand Bay & Hokenson Brothers Fishery

    Apostle Islands National Lakeshore, Bayfield County, Wisconsin, USA (August 2007) Little Sand Bay hugged the northern edge of the Bayfield Peninsula. It fell between Point Detour and Sand Point, a gateway to the westernmost Apostle Islands. A National Park Service visitors center could be found there. It included a campground, a marina, and the historic…

  • New River Gorge

    Fayette County, West Virginia, USA (late 1990’s / early 2000’s) The momentous New River starts its journey in North Carolina’s Blue Ridge Mountains, a part of the Appalachian chain, as it gently winds its northerly way through forests, valleys and fields. It continues its rural journey into Virginia and occasionally past towns like Galax and…

  • Driving Up Puget Sound

    Tacoma to Snoqualmie Falls to La Conner to Bellingham, Washington (May 14, 1998) We stayed off I-5 to avoid spray coming off the trucks and followed a path through the town of Snoqualmie and its eponymous falls (map). A large inn sat aside wide cliffs of water. The cold, wind, and rain made us miss…

  • Tangier Island in the Chesapeake Bay

    Accomack County, Virginia (June 2000) For many years I’d wanted to visit Tangier Island in the middle of Chesapeake Bay (map). People have inhabited Tangier for more than three hundred years, making a living from the bounty of the Bay, mostly isolated from their neighbors on the eastern and western shores. This has resulted in…