Twelve Mile Circle – An Appreciation of Unusual Places

Twelve Mile Circle

  • 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…

  • Washington Co., Maryland; Day 1

    I felt trapped at home, first because of a previous snowfall that refused to melt and later by a bout of the flu. Mentally I needed a change of scenery just to get away for awhile and reset my attitude. So this seemed like a perfect time to add another new overnight county to my…

  • 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…

  • Borderland, Part 4 (Walpole Algonac Ferry)

    Our brief respite in Ontario approached its conclusion and we had to return to the United States. Three days earlier, we crossed the border using the Blue Water Bridge between Port Huron and Sarnia, which involved an hour-long wait. So this time we tried something different that had the added benefit of increasing my personal…

  • Borderland, Part 3 (Point Pelee)

    Canada’s Point Pelee National Park became one of my priority destinations ages ago. Now, finally, after all these years I could visit it in person. I was not about to miss my opportunity. It’s not difficult to get there, but for me at least it involved the added complication of an international border. Luckily, now…

  • Borderland, Part 2 (Blue Water Bridge)

    We entered Canada for the second time in the last few months. However, this visit was only a long weekend instead of the several days days we spent there during summer. Also, we drove across the border into Sarnia rather than flying into Toronto. So it was a much different experience, not nearly the same…

  • Lighthouse Adventures

    The 93 Lighthouses I have visited I noticed that I have visited quite a few lighthouse as a result of my journeys, and many have been featured in these travel pages since I began posting them a number of years ago. I didn’t start as a lighthouse collector, it just sort-of happened, but now I…

  • Borderland, Part 1  (Belle Isle)

    We flew up to Michigan for the older kid’s fall break from graduate school and we all wanted to see something new. This encompassed both sides of the international border between Michigan’s lower peninsula and the province of Ontario. Essentially this involved the borderlands along the Detroit River, Lake St. Clair, and the St. Clair…

  • 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…

Latest Comments

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

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

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