Twelve Mile Circle – An Appreciation of Unusual Places

Category: Cities/Towns

  • Rockies Loop, Part 6 (Breweries)

    I’ll wrap up the Rockies Loop adventure with one final article that probably won’t interest the majority of Twelve Mile Circle readers. Please feel free to skip this one if you like. I won’t mind. Then we’ll start with a new topic next week. Breweries and brewpubs grew in abundance in this area and of…

  • Rockies Loop, Part 5 (Sites)

    I always need at least one extra article to collect all the odds and ends that don’t fit anywhere else. Generally those involve locations or topics that might be a little off center or peculiar. In other words, they certainly fit the definition of things needing a Twelve Mile Circle visit, and maybe even worthy…

  • Rockies Loop, Part 3 (Towns)

    County counting scratched an important itch along my preferred route and it also offered an attractive side benefit; being able to stay in a lot of different Colorado towns. Each one displayed its own distinct personality. Admittedly I gained a skewed perspective at ski resorts without the snow or crowds although I didn’t have any…

  • Rockies Loop, Part 1 (Route)

    I took something of a stealth trip. Normally I’d announce my upcoming adventure to the Twelve Mile Circle crowd well in advance and ask for suggestions. This time I just went out on my own. I knew what I wanted to do. In fact, only subscribers of the 12MC Twitter learned about it, watching the…

  • Finishing West Virginia, Day 2 (am)

    Parkersburg to Point Pleasant I woke up early as I always do, so I let my son sleep in for awhile. After running a few miles on the hotel treadmill, after cleaning up and dressing, and after finishing breakfast, I still had some time to kill. Maybe I could take an early-morning stroll through Parkersburg,…

  • Finishing West Virginia, Day 1

    We finally began our trip to West Virginia after a two week delay. It made all of the difference. Springtime arrived and the weather approached perfection. My older son — the bird watcher, map aficionado, self-taught student of the Norwegian language — joined me on my inexplicable county counting odyssey. I did capture the remaining…

  • Last Chance

    Speaking of odd town names (we were just speaking of those, weren’t we?), what about Last Chance? Every place deserved a last chance, I supposed. The U.S. Geographic Names Information System listed more than three hundred of them. Many — no surprise — aligned with mining claims. Also they frequently referenced ditches, streams and gulches,…

  • Another Town Roundup

    I’ve collected unusual town names for awhile. They often came up as I researched Twelve Mile Circle articles or when I checked the daily log files. Generally they don’t make those “weird names” lists found elsewhere on the Intertubes. I find them endlessly fascinating for some unknown reason. Then I make a note of them…

  • Three of Them

    Sequences of three came to mind, a trio of possibilities. Little did I know that so many places also focused on a similar theme. I found an abundance of opportunities. Of course, that equated to long lists for me to review as I started searching for something memorable. By “memorable” I meant to me personally.…

  • Biggest Unvisited

    A couple of years ago I wrote about my Airport Visits. At that time I came oh-so-close to capturing Love Field in Dallas, Texas. A weather delay and a change of route dashed that achievement. However a work trip to Dallas last week finally righted that wrong. I flew there on Southwest Airlines and naturally…