Twelve Mile Circle – An Appreciation of Unusual Places

Twelve Mile Circle

  • There’s a Juno in Texas but not in Alaska

    Did any Alaskan readers of Twelve Mile Circle watch the NBC Nightly News this evening? When did your state capital become Juno? I happened to be sort-of watching it in the background as I was working on an article I’ll post tomorrow. The story centered on a Next Generation air traffic control system using satellite…

  • Happy Holidays

    Twelve Mile Circle wishes you a wonderful holiday season and a happy New Year. My many thanks to all of you for following the 12MC. I’ve had a great time presenting geo-oddities from around the world these last three years. I still find it surprising and gratifying to see that so many other people seem…

  • Right Up to the Line (again)

    This is my second attempt to present this article, following the debacle yesterday evening when I posted a rough outline. That was the first time I’d hit the publish button prematurely in nearly 500 articles. I suppose it was bound to happen eventually. Hopefully it didn’t cause too much confusion. The whole point of this…

  • Oops

    The latest post was a draft version — I accidentally hit the publish button while editing it. Please ignore and you’ll see the REAL version tomorrow.

  • Over the Road

    An image posted by reader Katy in a comment on my recent Tunnels, Bridges, Lifts and Inclines article completely captivated me. It shows a canal going over a road in the Netherlands. The interesting aspect, to me, is that a viewer can determine the actual depth of the canal. Highway engineers were kind enough to…

  • X to Nowhere

    There are many places that have been labeled a “[Name You Favorite Transportation Infrastructure] to Nowhere”. Sometimes they exist to reference an abandoned site. Other times they focus on an improvement that seemed to benefit an unusually small constituency. I’ll mention two rather well-known instances briefly today. Naturally I will ignore the political issues involved…

  • Journey Through Hallowed Ground

    The article is a bit self-indulgent today. A particular National Scenic Byway fascinated me for quite awhile. Aficionados call it the “Journey Through Hallowed Ground“. Much of my life centered on places along this 180-mile line. I’ve driven portions of it literally hundreds of times. I’ve also visited many but not all of the sites…

  • Fernando de Noronha

    Longtime reader “jlumsden” knows that I love to hear about the geo-adventures of my Twelve Mile Circle audience. Thankfully he’s kind enough to share some of his experiences with us. I haven’t encountered a lot of the world personally. That being the case, at least I can travel there vicariously through the adventures of others.…

  • That Initial Spark

    Recently I got to thinking about what may have sparked my original interest in geo-oddities. I’m not sure what caused me to suddenly ponder this topic but I do have a ready answer. Like many of you, I recall numerous childhood hours spent happily pouring over maps, fascinated by the overlay of abstract lines upon…

  • Cut the Corner

    Longtime reader James S.[1] has an interesting experience every time he drives along Interstate 75 between Georgia and Florida. There is a spot along that highway where one can observe two county entrance markers simultaneously. Take a close look at the Google Street View image and the signs can be seen pretty easily, one nearby…

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…