Category: Roads
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The Homer Spit
Homer, Kenai Peninsula Borough, Alaska, USA (July 2010) We drove along the Sterling Highway, curving south and passing towns like Clam Gulch, Ninilchik, and Anchor Point, heading ever further down the Kenai Peninsula until we could drive no further. We arrived in Homer and headed towards the famous Homer Spit. Part of the appeal, naturally,…
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Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel
Whittier, Alaska, USA (July 2010) I’d long wanted to traverse the Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel heading to Whittier, Alaska and the Prince William Sound (map). The tiny town of Whittier holds a couple hundred people where nearly the entire population lives in a single building. You might wonder why the government built a tunnel nearly…
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“Out the Road”
The City and Borough of Juneau, Alaska, USA (August 1995) We drove straight out of Juneau about 40 miles until we ran out of road. Juneau is not an island. However, it’s wedged between the Gastineau Channel and the Coast Mountains that completely cut it off from the rest of mainland North America. The only…
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Shell Falls and Devils Tower
Northern Wyoming (June 1992) Shell Falls We cut across northern Wyoming on Route 14 as we gradually began our Bighorn Mountains ascent. These mountains formed about 60 million years ago as the land forced upward. Erosion slowly scraped away the sedimentary rock in many places, leaving behind the harder granite beneath it. We entered the…
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Multnomah Falls
Eugene to The Dalles to Portland, Oregon (May 12, 1998) We struggled from Eugene to Portland on I-5 through heavy rain and cut East on I-84, enjoying remarkable scenery along the Columbia River gorge. Clouds began to dissipate as we pushed through the mountains and descended into Hood River. Sunny skies broke through by the…
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Inner Banks, Day 2
We spent the first day getting down to our base at Elizabeth City, North Carolina. That set us up well for Day Two. Now we could focus squarely on capturing some unvisited counties. I decided to travel counter-clockwise (or anti-clockwise for the international 12MC audience). This map shows the actual coordinates I used to guide…
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Astoria to Florence, Oregon
Oregon USA’s Northern Coastline (May 1998) We took a detour about ten miles west of Tillamook, Oregon to the Three Capes Scenic Drive, putting most of the Sunday traffic behind us. We stopped first at Cape Meares and climbed up to the red lens of the lighthouse (map). Cape Meares Lighthouse Cape Meares is Oregon’s…
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Fort Nisqually
Portland, Oregon to Tacoma, Washington (May 13, 1998) The rain kept falling so we took our time getting ready that morning. We wandered into downtown Portland and shopped, and tried to stay warm and dry. Ed (mentioned earlier) and John (who shall also remain otherwise nameless because this is the Internet), from my employer’s Portland…
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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.…
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Valentia Island Car Ferry
Crossing Portmagee Channel: Knightstown, Valentia Island to Reenard Point, Cahersiveen (July 2014) There were two ways to cross between the Irish mainland and Valentia Island, one was a car ferry on the northeast corner of Valentia and the other was a bridge from Portmagee on the southern end. Naturally we took the ferry although most…