Tag: Nebraska
-
The Merrick Strip
Three cheers for longtime reader Pfly for pointing out the Merrick Strip in a recent comment. Did you miss the comment? Are you wondering what I’m talking about? Then check out the northwest corner of Merrick County, Nebraska. Notice what almost looks like an antenna protruding from the main body of the county. It’s an…
-
Population: 1
I’ve long been interest in small towns facing unique circumstances in isolation. I wondered what might be the smallest town, not just some guy living in a shack by himself but an actual recognized, incorporated town. From there I found an old post from the misc.transport.road newsgroup (remember Usenet?). It explained that the question isn’t…
-
Over the Road
An image posted by reader Katy in a comment on my recent Tunnels, Bridges, Lifts and Inclines article completely captivated me. It shows a canal going over a road in the Netherlands. The interesting aspect, to me, is that a viewer can determine the actual depth of the canal. Highway engineers were kind enough to…
-
Rambling Along the Taylor-Rose Segment
I derive inspiration from odd places. Recently I stumbled across a simple notation on a chart, no more than a throwaway comment really, and it fascinated me. I noticed a brief history of Highway 183 on the US Highways website,(1) “Since 1930; original route North Platte, NE – Dresden, KS, extended north to Vivian, SD…
-
Place Name Palindromes
A palindrome is a word or phrase that is identical whether read forward or backward. Simple examples would include the words MOM and DAD. I love palindromes and wondered if I could combine this concept with some odd geography. I soon discovered that truly every esoteric subject has a home on Wikipedia when I found…
-
Carter Lake, Iowa
Strange Maps recently featured “Shifting Like A Snake: Ancient Mississippi Courses” [link no longer works] with a beautiful rendition of its meandering riverbanks over time. The relatively flat middle portion of the United States seems particularly susceptible to these types of changes along its grand watersheds, whether the Mississippi, Missouri, Platte or others. I believe…