Twelve Mile Circle – An Appreciation of Unusual Places

Twelve Mile Circle

  • Confederate Yankees

    The Confederate’s Army of Northern Virginia surrendered at Appomattox Court House on April 9, 1865. That was essentially the end of the Civil War although others continued to fight briefly afterwards. The former Confederate states all regained representation in the United States Congress within the next few years. Eventually they all formally terminated their succession…

  • Hurricane Irene Now a Memory

    Hurricane Irene finally finished with the Washington, DC area. We do have one last rain band that needs to work its way through. Then we should have clear skies by noon. I’ve been up since 5:00 am, partially because I’m an early riser, partially because I couldn’t sleep for the obvious reasons. I’ve noticed the…

  • Perfect Weather

    I spent a long weekend in Wisconsin a couple of weeks ago. The family had already been on holiday there for about ten days when I arrived, staying with the in-laws. We visited with my wife’s aunt and uncle one beautiful Sunday afternoon at their home along the banks of Lake Wisconsin (map). The weather…

  • Bibb-Monroe Border War Resolved. Maybe.

    Who says that Twelve Mile Circle can’t break a story? I stay away from the major geographic developments because I figure everyone else will cover them. South Sudan, anyone? You saw no mention of it that on 12MC. The smaller stories, the ones few care to follow and even fewer dare to understand? Well those…

  • Earthquake in DC!

    Holy crap! We just had an earthquake. I’m on the top floor — 11th floor — of an office building in Crystal City, just across the river from Washington, DC. The building actually ROCKED for awhile. Lots of people have evacuated the office buildings. I can see them out on the streets. Me? I’m still…

  • National Preserves

    I mentioned 12MC reader Scott a couple of weeks ago in reference to the Park You Cannot Visit. He also set me up with a lot of other National Park Service trivia that I’ll cover from time-to-time as I’m able to work it into the publication schedule. As an example, he wondered if I’d ever…

  • Rotten Boroughs

    Changing population patterns created a particularly rotten political situation in the United Kingdom over a period of several hundred years. It remained uncorrected until the middle of the Nineteenth Century. The House of Commons, the lower house, has its roots all the way back in the Thirteenth Century in England. Each borough — roughly analogous…

  • The Loneliest Road in the USA

    What is the “Loneliest Road in America?” Life Magazine claimed that it was the stretch of U.S. Route 50 running through Nevada, in a 1986 article. I don’t know if anyone still claims that today, or if it was even true twenty-five years ago. Additionally, there are probably far lonelier roads in Australia and Canada…

  • Mmm… Doughnut

    My mind gravitates back to doughnuts (or is it donuts?) following up on a long-ago article, the Gaithersburg Doughnut Hole. The concept fascinates me. It occurs when a town completely surrounds a separately-governed entity, generally another town. That leaves a doughnut town — one with the hole in it — and a doughnut-hole town, the…

  • Sports Facilities I Never Imagined

    My mind fixates on patterns and I’ve noticed a number of unusual sport coincidences in recent days. It started with an acquaintance who mentioned her disinterest in Reno, Nevada. She simply didn’t want to go back there again this year. Of course I knew she didn’t gamble. So I wondered why she would go to…

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…