Category: Water
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Islands and Cape, Part 4 (Random Thoughts)
There were numerous other happenings from my recent Cape Cod and Islands adventure that didn’t fit within larger themes. Some of them were unusual. Others simply recorded additions to my various lists. Still others, well, I’m not sure why I felt they were noteworthy except that they caught my attention for some inexplicable reason. My…
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Islands and Cape, Part 3 (Lighthouse Crazy)
Longtime readers of Twelve Mile Circle already know that I have a thing for lighthouses among numerous other counting-related quirks. I might have gone overboard on the recent trip to Cape Cod, however. That wasn’t my intent. It seemed as if lighthouses appeared every time I turned around, and the next thing I knew I’d…
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Islands and Cape, Part 1 (Seacoast Scenes)
It seemed like I was on the road just yesterday and here I was back out in the wilds once again. This time my wife and I were celebrating a round-numbered wedding anniversary so we headed up to coastal Massachusetts and Rhode Island. I’d been to Boston many times before, however I’d never traveled along…
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You Complete Me
Washington and Idaho seemed to have a little bit of a romance going on with a couple of their towns. Their names could stand alone, however they paired rather nicely in the form of meaningful symmetry. Those names weren’t coincidental either. They were completely intentional. New and Old First came the curious case of Newport,…
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Great Allegheny Passage, Day 4 (Meyersdale to Cumberland)
The final day, like the end of all great adventures, was bittersweet. Nobody wanted to stop and yet we all had our lives to get back to and our responsibilities awaiting us that needed attention the next day. Most of the day’s ride would fly noticeably downhill. All of the gradual elevation we’d earned over…
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Great Allegheny Passage, Day 2 (West Newton to Ohiopyle)
The second day of biking on the Great Allegheny Passage may have been my favorite. The rain lifted overnight and conditions improved with lightly cloudy skies, neither too hot nor too cool. Scenery changed from rust belt chic to thick forest hugging a scenic whitewater river. It was our first complete day of biking without…
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Great Allegheny Passage, Day 1 (Pittsburgh to West Newton)
I fretted about my upcoming bicycle trek along the Great Allegheny Passage trail. My attitude got stuck somewhere between nervousness and fear. I’d never attempted anything like it before, a 150 mile (240 kilometre) rails-to-trails ride between Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and Cumberland, Maryland. Confronting My Fears Every time I conquered a fear I created a new…
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How Tautological
Previously I noted the inherent redundancy of places named River Ouse in England. The literal translation worked out to something like Water River or even River River. Similar repetitions occurred likewise wherever one language overlapped another. That happened as new settlers migrated into territory occupied and named previously by earlier cultures. Then I found a…
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Ouse
I came across the oddly named River Great Ouse as I researched Pathway to Bedford. The river ran through Bedford, the County Town of Bedfordshire. It amused me even further to discover that locals pronounce it somewhat akin to “Ooze”. A body of water likened to a great ooze seemed awful to me. Hopefully it…
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Savages
I continue to make progress with the logistics supporting my recently-revealed 2015 Travel Plans. First on the docket will be a 150 mile (240 kilometre) bicycle adventure along the Great Allegheny Passage trail. That one runs between Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and Cumberland, Maryland. I’ve been scoping the route and noticed a peculiarly-named town on the Maryland…