Tag: Capitol
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Ohio River, Part 7 (Corydon Loop)
We used Louisville, Kentucky as our home base for the week and we took several day trips into the countryside. Because the drive to Louisville took a toll on us we decided to relax early in the week. Then our first foray focused on Corydon in nearby Indiana, barely a half-hour away. Something else figured…
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Sitka Points of Interest
The City and Borough of Sitka, Alaska, USA (August 1995) American history recognizes the 60-foot high promontory known as Castle Hill for a significant event (map). It marks the spot where Russia transferred Alaska to the United States after its purchase for $7.2 million in 1867. It also has a notable history from earlier times.…
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Downtown Juneau, Alaska
The City and Borough of Juneau, Alaska, USA (August 1995) Juneau, Alaska (map) is one of the smallest state capitals in the United States. It has a genuinely small town feel and it is easily walkable. This image shows one of the best shopping streets, lined with numerous stores, restaurants and bars to wander among…
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Appalachian Loop, Part 2 (Vistas)
Notions of endless horizons came to mind as I prepared for an Appalachian Loop. We would cross mountaintops, dip into hollows and follow valley flatlands along tumbling rivers amid early signs of spring. This journey promised stunning scenery in a little-visited and often under-appreciated rural preserve. People who ventured into Appalachia as tourists usually came…
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Capitol: Behind the Scenes Tour
I’ve lived in the Washington, DC area my entire life and it’s not very often that I get to see something in the city completely new. On Saturday the Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon series made its annual stop in town. As part of that it offered a private tour of the Capitol building as a…
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One Star Many Centers
I stumbled upon an interesting point as I researched U.S. State Capital Surnames. While Austin, Texas may have been the first and only capital of Texas once it became part of the United States, it was not the original or by any means the only capital of the Republic of Texas. This isn’t the first…
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The Oddity That Got Away
I’ve returned from Denver, Colorado. Well of course I found some time to record a couple of oddities. That’s what I do. Specifically I visited the Denver International Airport and one of the Arapahoe Exclaves. However, I didn’t exhaust the wish list I brought along with me. Maybe I should have expected that because I…
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Charting the Split
I recently recorded a question of amazing specificity, what I’d call a hyper-local geographic oddity that’s probably of interest only to a handful of people. Fortunately I’m one of those very few souls and maybe you are too. I’ll tie it in with a little history to widen the audience just a bit, so stick…
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Library of Congress’ Waldseemüller Map
Reuters reports that the only remaining copy of the map that first used the label “America” will go on permanent display at the Library of Congress in Washington, DC (map). Martin Waldseemüller created the map in 1507 and it displayed unusual accuracy for its time. However, experts haven’t figured out exactly how Waldseemüller may have…
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Remote Southwestern Virginia
Recently I posted an entry about a section of Virginia that is further west than any point in West Virginia. It’s an odd fact made quite interesting primarily because the founders of a state carved from an older one consciously chose to highlight the word “west” in describing their creation. At the same time it…