Twelve Mile Circle – An Appreciation of Unusual Places

Twelve Mile Circle

  • Travels in Mississippi

    Pascagoula, Natchez, Vicksburg & Jackson (May 2005) Our 2005 trip to Mississippi started along the Gulf Coast. From there we traveled up the Natchez Trace to Natchez, Vicksburg, and Jackson. Airboat Ride Our first adventure involved an airboat ride at an alligator farm outside of Pascagoula. We thought the little guy might be overwhelmed by…

  • Counties in Minnesota that I have Visited

    There are 87 Counties in Minnesota – “The Land of 10,000 Lakes“ Also be sure to see my United States County Counting Page for the rest of the states. I have visited 23 Counties = 26.4% of Counties in Minnesota Counties visited are colored-in; counties still needing to be visited are blank.  Map created using…

  • Mall of America

    Bloomington, Hennepin County, Minnesota (August 2002) Anyone hunting for Americana in Minnesota absolutely must visit to Mall of America in Bloomington, a suburb of the Minneapolis / St. Paul metropolitan area (map). I will concede that it’s essentially just an overgrown mall, but what says more about America than its shopping mall culture? I’ve probably…

  • Counties in Michigan that I have Visited

    There are 83 Counties in Michigan – “The Wolverine State“ Also be sure to see my United States County Counting Page for the rest of the states. I have visited 75 Counties = 90.4% of Counties in Michigan Counties visited are colored-in; counties still needing to be visited are blank.  Map created using Mob Rule.…

  • Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore

    Near Traverse City, Michigan; September 2000 Glaciers scoured the Great Lakes region during the last Ice Age. This mighty forces inundated the countryside, carving out many areas while leaving deposits behind in others. Sleeping Bear Dunes became one of those locations that happened to gain land, and presents rare examples of what are known geologically…

  • Fayette Historic State Park

    Delta County; Michigan’s Upper Peninsula (September 2000) We drove along scenic shoreline through Michigan’s Upper Peninsula between Manistique and Escanaba on U.S. Route 2. It to just a short detour down Lake Michigan’s Garden Peninsula to reach the Fayette Historic State Park and its lovingly preserved ghost town (map). Fayette once housed 500 residents in…

  • Beaver Island Travel Index

    Beaver Island, Michigan, USA (September 2000) Beaver Island is the largest island in Lake Michigan and the third largest in the Great Lakes, at about 6 miles wide and 13 miles long. It is located 18 miles from Michigan’s lower and upper peninsulas. Native Americans settled Beaver Island originally and Irish immigrants began arriving by…

  • Scenic Lakeshores of Beaver Island

    Beaver Island, Michigan, USA (September 2000) While Beaver Island displayed amazing lakeshore scenery from practically every angle, three places stood out in particular Mount Pisgah Mt. Pisgah is an overgrown sand dune at the island’s northwest corner (map). It rises to 730 feet just a quarter mile from shore and it’s an obligatory climb. We…

  • Rural Scenes from Beaver Island

    Beaver Island, Michigan, USA (September 2000) One small town existed on Beaver Island — St. James — and barely a couple hundred people lived there. The remaining several hundred residents spread broadly across the island. Essentially, almost every view involved a rural scene around here. Hiking Miles of hiking trails literally covered Beaver Island. Many…

  • Inland Lakes of Beaver Island

    Beaver Island, Michigan, USA (September 2000) Beaver Island contained seven major interior lakes and several minor ones. Many of them were accompanied by marshes, bogs or drainage basins so the most direct route to them might not have always been the easiest. The major bodies of water from north to south were Font Lake, Round…

Latest Comments

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

  3. Hi Mr. Howder — Just going from memory, I recall that your “rule” for counting a nation/state/county is “if I’m…