Twelve Mile Circle – An Appreciation of Unusual Places

Twelve Mile Circle

  • Texas: Is Everything Really Bigger?

    I’ve been to Texas many times. I have family there, I have business there, and I’ve driven across its width. I don’t underestimate its gargantuan size. There’s a reason why “Everything is Bigger in Texas” has become such an iconic boast that borders on cliché. If Texas were still a country as it was when…

  • I Jumped the Border

    I crossed the Rio Grande into Mexico, bypassing all official border stations and every immigration or customs officer, and returned the same way. I suppose this was technically illegal although it was allowed with a wink and a nod on both sides of the boundary. After all, the nearest official crossing was more than a…

  • My Longest Road Trip

    I’ve been going through an old shoebox this week, looking at dusty photographs I took way back in the Summer of 1992 using a cheap Kodak Instamatic camera on low quality 110 film. I’d recorded an epic circular tour of the United States undertaken by a bunch of scruffy guys in their 20’s, most of…

  • Long Distance Diversion

    I canceled my DSL service a few days ago and moved to one of those “bundled” broadband services with voice, television and Internet access all rolled into a single plan. All went well and I don’t have any of the horror stories one typically hears about with these types of installations. It still fascinates me…

  • Lost Again

    My initial article on Michigan’s Lost Peninsula was pretty lame. However, it was only the second time I’d ever posted on Twelve Mile Circle in its earliest days. Of course, anyone following this site for awhile knows it’s evolved greatly over time. Do-Over Now, thanks to loyal reader Jim C., I get a rare opportunity…

  • Revisiting the Chicago River

    Many months ago I posted an article with a somewhat cryptic name, “They Reversed the Chicago River.” The story centered on an early twentieth century engineering marvel that actually changed the direction of a significant waterway. It made sure any sewage from the burgeoning City of Chicago wouldn’t foul the city’s drinking water. An Engineering…

  • Fort Blunder

    Mistakes happen. Generally though, a nation doesn’t accidentally build a fort on the wrong side of an international border. A neighboring country, even if friendly, might not appreciate that. Throw in a history of mutual mistrust and territorial incursions and things could get much worse. The United States made just such an incursion onto British…

  • The Cult of Elvis

    Oddly I’m not much of a fan of the music of Elvis Presley but I’m a huge fan of the Cult of Elvis. His staying power and continuing impact upon the cultural landscape long after his passage to the great beyond (assuming one believes he’s truly gone) simply cannot be denied. Let’s explore a few…

  • Wall Found at Canada’s Oldest English Settlement

    The National Post reported recently on a “Wall unearthed from Canada’s oldest British settlement.” This was the Cupids Colony in Newfoundland, settled on the Avalon Peninsula along the shores of Conception Bay (map). Thirty nine settlers landed here in 1610 under the direction of John Guy, a Bristol merchant. An overview of the colony appears…

  • Big Tom the Turkey

    What do you do when you’re only the second largest city in Becker County, Minnesota? You focus on your strengths of course. So what object might properly honor a robust rural heritage, provide an iconic emblem of efficient poultry production and attract connoisseurs and aficionados of roadside kitsch from around the globe? The natural choice…

Latest Comments

  1. Osage Orange trees are fairly common in Northern Delaware. I assumed they were native plants. As kids we definitely called…

  2. Enough of them in Northern Delaware that they don’t stand out at all until the fruit drops in the fall.…

  3. That was its original range before people spread it all around. Now it’s in lots of different places, including Oklahoma.

  4. I think that range needs to be expanded greatly. I’m in the Oklahoma City area and those are fairly prevalent…

  5. The law in the 1800s when most of the countries was being broke down into smaller one stated that you…