Category: History

  • White’s Ferry

    Potomac River between Montgomery Co., MD and Loudoun Co., VA (September 2007) We arrived at the White’s Ferry landing west of Poolesville Maryland on our journey towards Virginia’s wine country and took our place in queue. A small flat-bottomed barge carried weekend explorers across the river on this sunny Saturday afternoon. The ferryboat “Jubal A.…

  • Tangier Island Ferry

    Reedville to Tangier, Virginia (June 2000) We drove down the spine of Virginia’s scenic Northern Neck, a broad appendage of land between the Potomac and Rappahannock Rivers that becomes increasingly isolated as easterly-flowing waters widen on their way to Chesapeake Bay. We traveled along Route 3, then onto Route 360 until we ran out of…

  • Jamestown-Scotland Ferry

    Crossing the James River near Jamestown, Virginia (October 2007) I wanted to avoid heavy traffic on Interstate 64 during my drive to Williamsburg, Virginia, electing instead to hug the rural southern bank of the James River. It took longer and I went farther, but I wandered empty winding ribbons of rolling terrain, woodlands, plantations and…

  • Green River Ferry

    Mammoth Cave National Park, Kentucky (July 2013) While visiting Mammoth Cave National Park — and with an interest in ferries already — a slight detour to the Green River Ferry seemed in order. It was easy. The ferry can be found southwest of the Visitor Center. Drive out of the Visitor Center on the Mammoth…

  • Canal Street / Algiers Ferry

    New Orleans, Louisiana (April 2008) This video records our Mississippi River traverse from the base of Canal Street in New Orleans across to Algiers Point in April 2008 (map). This presents scenic views of the waterfront on both sides of the river from multiple perspectives. I tried to do the same thing on an earlier…

  • Cassville Car Ferry

    Crossing the Mississippi River between Wisconsin & Iowa (June 2009) The Cassville Car Ferry (map) crosses the Mississippi River between Cassville, Wisconsin and Turkey River, Iowa. Bridges across the Upper Mississippi are scarce. The river is wide and in these rural areas making it difficult to justify the cost of construction and maintenance of bridge…

  • Aircraft Carrier, Part 8 (Other Spaces and Places)

    I certainly enjoyed my all-too-brief time on the USS John C. Stennis and hopefully I can get another opportunity to do it again someday.  However, all things must end so I’ll tie-up a few remaining threads so we can move on to further adventures. Museum A museum on an aircraft carrier?  Sure, why not.  Behind…

  • Aircraft Carrier, Part 7 (Always Working)

    The USS John C. Stennis had only been out to sea for a couple of days when we visited.  Morale remained high with the crew so early into their voyage, with absolute professionalism in whatever jobs they performed.  We watched everyday activities as they took place, the many parts that worked together keeping a warship…

  • A Big Milestone – 1500!

    My travels this summer fell into a distinct pattern as I completed recent Twelve Mile Circle articles. I didn’t even plan to mention the most recent long weekend excursion until I crossed an important milestone somewhat unexpectedly. This marked our annual visit to Madison, Wisconsin for the Great Taste of the Midwest beer festival, our tenth straight…

  • Gulf Coast Weekend

    The college tours continued again last weekend although I didn’t go.  My wife and our older son headed towards sites in Ohio and Pennsylvania. The younger guy and I flew down to the Gulf Coast of Louisiana and Mississippi to visit with family instead. He didn’t get to go on the great road trip over the holidays…