On the subject of county boundaries, I remember on a road-trip on I-40 in TX a few years ago, seeing signs for us going back and forth between two different counties. We were headed WB, in Gray County, then passed into Donley County. Two miles or so later, we saw a sign that we were back in Gray, then before I could comprehend that, we were in Donley again. Another bend in the interstate, and we were in Gray again (looking up the border on Google Maps, it looks like the border is in the middle of the interstate for a stretch). Back to Donley one final time, then back into Gray, and finally away from that nonsense and into Carson County. The absurdity was heightened by the accurate placement of county line signs.
Great series Paul and thanks for helping others become more borderly aware! Living no more than 3 miles either side of the Ohio/Michigan border my entire life it’s amazing how you can take the border for granted because it’s part of your daily life as I’ve routinely crossed it for school, work or other daily life activities since reaching adulthood. I think a person’s awareness of border issues is inversely proportional to the distance from which they reside to the nearest border. That never became more clear to me than while living in Michigan our son was being denied state scholarship funding to attend the U of Michigan. Legislation had been proposed to limit the funding to graduates of in-state high schools, but our son graduated from the closest parochial school to us which was also my HS alma mater in Toledo. I ended up testifying in front of the Michigan state senate education committee to get the legislation changed. During questioning, one senator from the middle of the state asked me somewhat rhetorically why anyone would go to an out of state high school. My response was to beg forgiveness for not living farther away from the border and causing the issue. Fortunately another senator had a son at an out of state academy and saw to it that the border issue went away.
And not sure why I didn't think about it earlier in the week, but this, and most of the other IC content, is about perfect for the "Dull Men" groups on Facebook. I'll share it there and see if we can't build up your base.
A fun fact about Greenwich--which I remember from a Car Talk quiz many years ago. If you start in Greenwich, and you head in any of the four cardinal directions--due north, due south, due east, or due west--the next state you encounter will always be New York.
Lloydminster. Former Washington Capitals goalie Braden Holtby is from there! He thinks of himself as from Saskatchewan, but his house as an adult is in Alberta with a view of Saskatchewan from his backyard. He had both provincial flags on the backplate of his mask. (The blue flag is AB; green and yellow, SK)
I’m really confused about the Connecticut section. You talk about Greenwich in the southwest. (Yes, I follow, that’s near Port Chester, and if you go to Bar Taco there, you can walk over a pedestrian bridge and cross state lines. Fun!) But then everything else about the section is talking about somewhere in northwest CT near Armonk
?? No. There's one Greenwich, which exists in the southwestern corner of the state. But the northwestern corner of Greenwich is a de facto exclave due to I-684 slicing thru it.
I'm not quite understanding the source of your confusion, Mike. Is there some other aspect to this I'm overlooking?
I’m good now! I went on Google Maps. Greenwich the city is bigger than I ever thought, because I only knew the part of it next to Port Chester. Guess who needs coffee?
I randomly thought of another enclave of sorts today: the "Zone of Death" in Yellowstone National Park.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zone_of_Death_(Yellowstone)
On the subject of county boundaries, I remember on a road-trip on I-40 in TX a few years ago, seeing signs for us going back and forth between two different counties. We were headed WB, in Gray County, then passed into Donley County. Two miles or so later, we saw a sign that we were back in Gray, then before I could comprehend that, we were in Donley again. Another bend in the interstate, and we were in Gray again (looking up the border on Google Maps, it looks like the border is in the middle of the interstate for a stretch). Back to Donley one final time, then back into Gray, and finally away from that nonsense and into Carson County. The absurdity was heightened by the accurate placement of county line signs.
https://www.randymajors.org/countygmap?x=-100.8726968&y=35.1811147&cx=-100.9109764&cy=35.1771043&zoom=13&labels=show&counties=show
https://www.google.com/maps/place/Donley+County,+TX/@35.1811399,-100.9189769,8322m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m6!3m5!1s0x87008c3ef3de7601:0xc436bd54155ec823!8m2!3d34.9875355!4d-100.8903099!16zL20vMG1yejQ!5m1!1e2?entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI1MDYyMy4yIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D
Great series Paul and thanks for helping others become more borderly aware! Living no more than 3 miles either side of the Ohio/Michigan border my entire life it’s amazing how you can take the border for granted because it’s part of your daily life as I’ve routinely crossed it for school, work or other daily life activities since reaching adulthood. I think a person’s awareness of border issues is inversely proportional to the distance from which they reside to the nearest border. That never became more clear to me than while living in Michigan our son was being denied state scholarship funding to attend the U of Michigan. Legislation had been proposed to limit the funding to graduates of in-state high schools, but our son graduated from the closest parochial school to us which was also my HS alma mater in Toledo. I ended up testifying in front of the Michigan state senate education committee to get the legislation changed. During questioning, one senator from the middle of the state asked me somewhat rhetorically why anyone would go to an out of state high school. My response was to beg forgiveness for not living farther away from the border and causing the issue. Fortunately another senator had a son at an out of state academy and saw to it that the border issue went away.
One note about the DC stone markers, in 1847, 31 sq miles was given back to Virginia, so there are DC markers in Virginia now
Good stuff this week, Paul.
And not sure why I didn't think about it earlier in the week, but this, and most of the other IC content, is about perfect for the "Dull Men" groups on Facebook. I'll share it there and see if we can't build up your base.
I've enjoyed the week!
A fun fact about Greenwich--which I remember from a Car Talk quiz many years ago. If you start in Greenwich, and you head in any of the four cardinal directions--due north, due south, due east, or due west--the next state you encounter will always be New York.
Great week! Thank you!
Lloydminster. Former Washington Capitals goalie Braden Holtby is from there! He thinks of himself as from Saskatchewan, but his house as an adult is in Alberta with a view of Saskatchewan from his backyard. He had both provincial flags on the backplate of his mask. (The blue flag is AB; green and yellow, SK)
Link https://russianmachineneverbreaks.com/2010/09/11/braden-holtby-debuts-his-new-goalie-mask-on-caps365/
Great uni-related detail!
I’m really confused about the Connecticut section. You talk about Greenwich in the southwest. (Yes, I follow, that’s near Port Chester, and if you go to Bar Taco there, you can walk over a pedestrian bridge and cross state lines. Fun!) But then everything else about the section is talking about somewhere in northwest CT near Armonk
The bit about I-684 is about northwestern Greenwich, and Greenwich is in southwestern CT.
So there are two Greenwiches?
?? No. There's one Greenwich, which exists in the southwestern corner of the state. But the northwestern corner of Greenwich is a de facto exclave due to I-684 slicing thru it.
I'm not quite understanding the source of your confusion, Mike. Is there some other aspect to this I'm overlooking?
I’m good now! I went on Google Maps. Greenwich the city is bigger than I ever thought, because I only knew the part of it next to Port Chester. Guess who needs coffee?