Twelve Mile Circle – An Appreciation of Unusual Places

Twelve Mile Circle

  • Peering Behind the Curtain

    I’ve used the Google Maps URL Shortener for a lot of links I’ve included within Twelve Mile Circle. Often these maps are “also rans” that are interesting but not quite enough to embed directly within the page. They fall within the g.co/maps domain and directory. That’s a little different than the general Google URL Shortener…

  • Most Landlocked State

    The query simply said, “Most Landlocked State.” It seemed innocent enough as I pondered it. I believed it would have a simple solution. However, the more I considered it the more I figured the answer could vary based upon one’s definition of landlocked. I wish I could ask the anonymous searcher what he (or she)…

  • Odds and Ends 4

    The mailbag runneth over with great finds and suggestions from the generous readers of the Twelve Mile Circle audience. I’ll combine that with a couple of my recent discoveries and voilà, instant article. I’m not sure if I’m feeling lazy or if I’m still in a food coma from the recent Thanksgiving holiday but either…

  • Where Monks Make Beer

    It’s Thanksgiving in the United States today so most of the regular 12MC readers won’t be seeing this article. They can hang out with Big Tom the Turkey. We have more important things to talk about. I did consider taking the day off. Instead I decided to post an article that would likely be more…

  • Countdown

    I’ve held my counting fixation at bay recently although it lurks just below the surface ready to strike. It emerged briefly during the summer as I crossed the borders into several new counties in Utah and it disappeared just as quickly when I focused on other pursuits. It’s been much longer since I paid attention…

  • Subterranean Continental Divide

    I have a fascination with tunnels. So I like to feature them regularly, including articles such as Superlative Tunnels, Tunnel Under the Border, and Tunnels, Bridges, Lifts and Inclines. Also I’ve fixated on boundaries and watersheds such as the Hydrological Apex of North America. It seems odd to me that I hadn’t yet encountered a…

  • No, Not That One

    I was trying to find something on Buffalo, New York. I can’t remember what it was exactly, although that’s not actually important to the discussion. However, a random search led me to another Buffalo, a town with the same name in Wyoming. I considered it rather odd. When one thinks of Buffalo as a city,…

  • Alphabetical Circle

    I had an ulterior motive behind the previous article, X Marks the Spot. Actually, I was researching this article when I discovered a dearth of place names beginning with the letter X. I had been wondering how small a circle I could draw that included place names starting with every letter of the alphabet. X…

  • X Marks the Spot

    It occurs to me how few place names begin with the letter X. I’ll admit that lots of places in China and other portions of the world do. However, those names derive from another language and gain their X during translation. I believe we need to distinguish the set of names converted from foreign logographic…

  • Carbon

    I noticed an interesting theme in a small town in Eastland County, Texas. Carbon, population 224, seems dedicated to all things carbon as befitting its name. Check out its fascinating array of streets featuring carbon in various allotropes, primarily although not exclusively in the form of coal and its derivatives. Carbon-themed streets I found: Coal…

Latest Comments

  1. I’ve enjoyed your Hawaii reports. I’ve visited 4 times, between 1976 and 2007, but no plans to return. In 1976…

  2. The British flag continues to fly at Roche Harbor, a couple miles north of English Camp.

  4. Been there Once for a few years. In 76 &77. Ran cooperative store. Even though it was very isolated It…

  5. As an Alaskan I always wondered why Interstates were a big deal. From my point of view a road went…