Twelve Mile Circle – An Appreciation of Unusual Places

Category: Miscellaneous

  • Countdown

    I’ve held my counting fixation at bay recently although it lurks just below the surface ready to strike. It emerged briefly during the summer as I crossed the borders into several new counties in Utah and it disappeared just as quickly when I focused on other pursuits. It’s been much longer since I paid attention…

  • Alphabetical Circle

    I had an ulterior motive behind the previous article, X Marks the Spot. Actually, I was researching this article when I discovered a dearth of place names beginning with the letter X. I had been wondering how small a circle I could draw that included place names starting with every letter of the alphabet. X…

  • Loyal Reader Joe

    Those of you expecting a geography topic may be a bit disappointed with this article. Feel free to jump down directly to the “totally unrelated” section or return in a couple of days when I get back to the usual content. Today I diverge completely to another one of my favorite topics, my ongoing battle…

  • 12MC in the Real World

    What do I mean by Twelve Mile Circle in the Real World? I don’t mean the actual circle itself which would be entirely too logical, rather I mean those rare moments in time when people read an article here and use that as motivation to undertake a physical action. And by physical I don’t mean…

  • Odds and Ends 3

    I use “Odds and Ends” articles to gather several unrelated topics under a single roof. None of them standing alone would provide enough material to merit its own article. Nonetheless, collectively they might provide a few moments of amusement. These include updates, observations, user suggestions and various failed efforts on my part. If you like…

  • Caro-what?

    Anyone following Twelve Mile Circle for any length of time knows that I have an unnatural fixation on borders and boundaries. I particularly enjoy those places split by borders or positioned directly alongside borders especially with a purpose in mind. I thought I’d discovered, either on my own or through the generous contributions of readers…

  • 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…

  • Looney Tunes Geography

    One of my favorite idea-generators came to the rescue again this evening. A random visitor arrived on the Twelve Mile Circle through an unusual search engine query. They were trying to research place names used in Looney Tunes cartoons. That sounds entertaining. I’ll take a shot at that. Let’s start with a definition. I’ll try…

  • Alien Encounters

    Aliens have left their imprint on the landscape, at least according to the U.S. Geological Survey’s Board on Geographic Names. I conducted a search on the Geographic Names Information System and encountered undeniable proof of two alien lifeforms among their 2,199,977 records. All joking aside, I don’t actually think the USGS is in cahoots with…

  • Odds and Ends 2

    Previously I composed of a collection of random thoughts, none of which merited an article on its own. It seemed to make sense to call it Odds and Ends. So I plan to do the same thing again today. Logically I should call this one Odds and Ends 2, like any good Hollywood blockbuster. Salt…