Twelve Mile Circle – An Appreciation of Unusual Places

Category: Terrain

  • Bermuda Shorts, Part 4 (Bermuda Railway Trail )

    The Bermuda Railway Trail surprised me in a pleasing way. I saw it on a map before I arrived and I thought it sounded interesting. Actually, it far exceeded my expectations, becoming one of the most memorable parts of my visit. A Little Context Residents and tourists alike used horsepower or their own feet to…

  • Bermuda Shorts, Part 3 (The Outsider )

    As a complete outsider, I didn’t know exactly what to expect when we landed at L. F. Wade Airport on the far eastern end of the archipelago. Sure, I’d thumbed through the guides and scoured the Intertubes although that never truly compares to being there on the ground. I tried to avoid being overly touristy.…

  • Bermuda Shorts, Part 2 (Shoreline Scenery )

    Shorelines defined Bermuda, with no single spot on the archipelago more than a half-mile away from water. Throw in a bunch of hills and it seemed almost impossible to find a place without a spectacular view. This amazing scenery seemed like a fitting topic for the second article in this series now that I’ve gotten…

  • Bermuda Shorts, Part 1 (Follow the Leader)

    I’d never seen Bermuda. It simply never rose to the top of my travel list. I never thought much about it actually. I wanted to see so many other places. Nonetheless, the opportunity dropped into my lap so I took it. My wife the runner who worked for a race company went there on business.…

  • Effigy Mounds National Monument

    Harpers Ferry, Iowa (June 2009) Few people seem to know much about Effigy Mounds National Monument except for those who happen to live along these magnificent stretches of the Upper Mississippi River (map). It is practically unrivaled for its amazing combination of natural beauty and historical importance, with its scenic vistas above the river and…

  • Minnetonka Cave

    Caribou-Targhee National Forest , Bear Lake, Idaho, USA (July 2011) We’d heard about Minnetonka Cave while we were visiting Bear Lake and decided to check it out. It’s set high within the Bear Lake Range in Cache National Forest (administered by the Montpelier Ranger District of the Caribou-Targhee National Forest) at an altitude of 7,700…

  • Stone Mountain

    DeKalb County, Georgia, USA (April 2010) Stone Mountain rises above the plain just a few miles northeast of Atlanta, a solid monolith standing alone like nothing else around it anywhere east of the Appalachians. It started out millions of years ago as magma that hardened below the earth’s surface. Slowly, over time, the surrounding landscape…

  • Theodore Roosevelt Island National Memorial

    Washington, DC (2007 & 2009) Few things are nicer than a walk on Theodore Roosevelt island on a beautiful day. The Setting We visited Theodore Roosevelt Island, often referred to by its shorter name “Roosevelt Island” an 88 acre nature preserve set amid the Potomac River and the surrounding urban landscape (map). The National Park…

  • Rocky Mountain National Park

    Larimer and Grand Counties, Colorado, USA (October 2002) We came to Denver for a wedding but we arrived early so we could travel up to Estes Park, Colorado (map). That serves as the gateway to Rocky Mountain National Park. Summer quickly transitions into winter here. Trail Ridge Road through the upper elevations of park closed…

  • Mesa Verde National Park

    Montezuma County, Colorado, USA (May 1992) Mesa Verde National Park, the “green table” of Colorado’s contribution to the Four Corners region contains some of the most spectacular and largest cliff dwellings ever constructed. Precolumbian native Americans, sometimes referred to as the Ancient Pueblo People or the Anasazi after the Navajo word for “ancient ones,” inhabited…