Uluru, Northern Territory, Australia

Last day of 2020: Alleluia! The year will linger on in memory as an inselberg, a distinctive mountain of memories that will diminish in size only as the years to come push it farther onto the horizon. Inselbergs are symbolic of the isolation we have all felt this past year: We lived our lives in the image of Uluru (formerly known as Ayers Rock). [1988]

Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico

Fewer haircuts than ever in 2020: Pre-Covid cuts in Tijuana, Mexico, and Sumpter, South Carolina. Home-bound cuts (two underage barbers) in Chesapeake, Virginia. Covid-Era cuts in Helena, Montana; Cape May, New Jersey; and Fort Mill, South Carolina. Eighteen states to go until Geographically Yours has been shod in each of the 50 states! [2020]

Marrakech, Morocco

♫ These Are a Few of My Favorite Things ♫ ~ Haircuts: Ordinary travelers can't pass up an inviting bar. Geographically Yours can't pass up an inviting barbershop. My instructions to the man on the right: Make me look Moroccan! And he did, thus entering my collection of barbers around the world. Check out tomorrow's post for portraits of my 2020 stylists. [2010]

Victoria, Gozo, Malta

♫ These Are a Few of My Favorite Things ♫ ~ Clocks: Time ticketh away: The end of the year will soon be upon us. Clocks on the landscape make time so ever-present (ever-threatening, too). They are provided, presumably as a service, by governments, churches, and businesses. Why? [2009]

Istanbul, Turkey

♫ These Are a Few of My Favorite Things ♫ ~ Flags: Viva vexillology. That's the study of flags. Of all the things that Geographically Yours photographs, flags are the hardest: There is either too much wind or not enough! Better to string them up overhead like this national standard in Istanbul. Flags turn the landscape into a game board: "What flag is that?" [2020]

Kaohsiung, Taiwan

♫ These Are a Few of My Favorite Things ♫ ~ Pole Banners: They lift your spirits by lifting your gaze. They animate your gait with their flutter. They exercise your optical nerves with diversity of hue. They deplete your wallet with lures to spend money. They attach you to places with scripts and images. Enjoy them: Their messages are always positive. [2011]

Road Town, Tortola, British Virgin Islands

♫ These Are a Few of My Favorite Things ♫ ~ Maps on the Landscape: Democratize geography. Liberate maps from their biblio-prisons and put them out there on the landscape where everyone can see them. This year, your present is an ornament on Road Town's Christmas tree. It honors a sister archipelago, St. Kitts and Nevis. [2014]

El Rosario, Michoacán, Mexico

♫ These Are a Few of My Favorite Things ♫ ~ Welcome Signs: Welcome signs may glow with local character, exude national ambition, or, in this case, compliment the international community for establishing a biosphere reserve. Remember, you never get a second chance to make a first impression. See also: Geographically Yours Welcome. [2008]

Steinbach, Manitoba, Canada

♫ These Are a Few of My Favorite Things ♫ ~ Signs: We are such a literate culture that we litter our landscape with language. There are words everywhere, and sometimes full sentences. Keep your eyes open for commercial, political, and iconic cultural signs. And, if you're a geographer, you will love place-name signs and should not miss tomorrow's post. [2012]

Amsterdam, Netherlands

♫ These Are a Few of My Favorite Things ♫ ~ Cemeteries: Cemetery space may be the last space we can call our own. Why not use it tell our story? That is the trend in memorialization, and it is well illustrated by Zorgvlied Cemetery, where an iconic Amsterdam symbol (XXX) serves as a "headstone." See also: Geographically Yours Cemeteries. [2015]

Bucharest, Romania

♫ These Are a Few of My Favorite Things ♫ ~ Zoos: Flamingos, peacocks, penguins, and pelicans are centers of attention at almost every zoo. These Dalmatian Pelicans, vulnerable as a species, are among the largest birds alive. Put them on your must-see list for your next zoo visit. Geographically Yours has been to 48 zoos around the world. [2014]

San Diego, California, USA

♫ These Are a Few of My Favorite Things ♫ ~ Lighthouses: Tourism waves ebb and flow, but lighthouses are always popular. Why are they so psychologically appealing? Why are they so sought after by photographers? Why are they reproduced so much in popular culture? A visit to the Point Loma lighthouse might provide some of the answers. [2020]

Twin Falls, Idaho, USA

♫ These Are a Few of My Favorite Things ♫ ~ Water Features: Water, whether it takes the form of streams, lakes, seas, or waterfalls, is always photogenic. Shoshone Falls ranks as the Niagara of the West and is one of many along the Snake River. See the rainbow? [2020]

Stone Mountain, Georgia, USA

♫ These Are a Few of My Favorite Things ♫ ~ Mills: Powered by running water, grist mills sustained generations of settlers on the Georgia piedmont. As a reminder, an old wooden mill was relocated to Atlanta's Stone Mountain Park in 1965. Water wheels, windmills and tidal mills (wish I could find one to photograph) all teach us the virtues of sustainability. [2020]

New Salem, Massachusetts, USA

♫ These Are a Few of My Favorite Things ♫ ~ Historical Preservation: The rising waters of the Quabbin Reservoir put four towns under water. The Town of Prescott's church was rescued and repurposed. It is now the headquarters of the Swift River Valley Historical Society, which preserves memories of what existed before the great flood. [2009]

Medora, Indiana, USA

♫ These Are a Few of My Favorite Things ♫ ~ Ruins: Each year, the landscape is encrusted with new layers of cultural creativity. Each year, old layers decay or are removed. Why are some elements of our shared patrimony saved and others sacrificed to the elements or to progress? What should be done with the remains of this shale-brick plant? [2017]

Thurmont, Maryland, USA

♫ These Are a Few of My Favorite Things ♫ ~ Covered Bridges: As soon as he started to drive, Geographically Yours started collecting covered bridges. Unlike the purists, though, he never cared whether they were authentic or decidedly unauthentic. Thurmont's authentic but rehabilitated Utica Mills bridge is now open to a new generation of traffic. [2019]

Charleston, South Carolina, USA

♫ These Are a Few of My Favorite Things ♫ ~ Mailboxes: Stopping roadside to take pictures of mailboxes means a lot of U-turns and illegal parking. Although the creative ones are few and far between, Geographically Yours did an entire month of mailbox pictures in February of 2018. This one matches its home, the Huger Street Fire Station. [2012]

Clarinda, Iowa, USA

♫ These Are a Few of My Favorite Things ♫ ~ Courthouses: There are over 3000 counties in the U.S., and each one has a county courthouse. County seats like Clarinda generally use their courthouses to brag about their past, their ideals, and their quality of life. They do this with eye-catching architecture and a plethora of memorials. [2019]

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, USA

♫ These Are a Few of My Favorite Things ♫ ~ Capitols: Born only a few blocks from the capitol dome in Pennsylvania's capital city, Geographically Yours fell in love with both capitals and capitols. His ambition, right here on Geographically Yours, is to feature a picture of each state capitol on statehood day. (Yes, GY is both a person, me, and a blogsite.) [2018]

Bridgeton, New Jersey, USA

♫ These Are a Few of My Favorite Things ♫ ~ Murals: An otherwise blank slate has been turned into a cross between an historical marker and a wall painting. It is a reminder of Bridgeton's industrial past. Mural art can commemorate the past, mimic the present, or anticipate the future. And, sometimes, murals are just fun. [2016]

Rome, Georgia, USA

♫ These Are a Few of My Favorite Things ♫ ~ Public Sculpture: Who founded the 'eternal city'? Romulus 'n Remus, abandoned twins suckled by a she-wolf! Now you know where the name Rome came from. Wonder how it came to Georgia? Like all good public art, the sculpture here invites you into a web of connections and, perhaps, controversies. [2013]

Burlington, Vermont, USA

♫ These Are a Few of My Favorite Things ♫ ~ Main Streets: Regardless of their specific names, main streets embody the essence of place. Topophiliacs ("place lovers") flock to their shores. Although they may not realize it, the folks here are exemplary topophiliacs. Elsewhere in downtown, more irresistible trottoirs await. [2009] 

Washington, DC, USA

♫ These Are a Few of My Favorite Things ♫ ~ Farmers' Markets: One way to keep farmers in your area afloat is to patronize your nearby farmers' markets: delicious, nutritious, so not malicious. And, they give you some insights into your local geography of agriculture. What makes the valley where these apples were grown such good orchard country? [2018] 

Boston, Massachusetts, USA

♫ These Are a Few of My Favorite Things ♫ ~ Coffee Shops: Where does so much of the work of Geographically Yours get done? In coffee shops around the world (actually that was B.C., Before Covid). Criticize Starbucks if you want, but it is the reason we have seen a resurgence of café culture over the past 50 years. [2008] 

Crossroads, New Mexico, USA

♫ These Are a Few of My Favorite Things ♫ ~ Post Offices: A place is not a place until it has a name, and the one place you could count on to prominently display that name was the post office. The old U.S. Post Office Department was the GIS of its day. In fact, it used to have a topographer to keep track of all the places where mail had to be delivered. [2018]

Lerna, Illinois, USA

♫ These Are a Few of My Favorite Things ♫ ~ Barns: Just as the family farm is passing out of existence, so is the traditional barn. Some, like this double-pen barn on the reconstituted Lincoln farm, will be deliberately preserved; most will not. Geographers love to figure out why building materials, designs, and sizes of barns vary from place to place. [2017]

Bensalem, Pennsylvania, USA

♫ These Are a Few of My Favorite Things ♫ ~ Water Towers: Water towers (and water tanks) work hand-in-hand with the spirit of place. They can make residents feel proud and visitors feel welcome, and also lift your spirits by lifting your gaze above the horizon. In residence here: the patriotic muse, the history muse, and the toponymic muse. [2018]

Hebron, Kentucky, USA

♫ These Are a Few of My Favorite Things ♫ ~ Ferries: From Kentucky to Ohio: There are few crossings where you can still make the trip by ferry boat. When you find one, treat it like a shooting star, and take a ride. Geographers like traveling the 'blue highways,' but ferries are even better. They get you off the blue highways and even deeper into the past. [2017]

Bliss, Idaho, USA

♫ These Are a Few of My Favorite Things ♫ ~ People: Dad's a trucker, but when there's nothing to haul he shares the road with his boy. Blissful, isn't it? Meeting people anywhere and everywhere is one of the joys of traveling as a geographer. Sometimes they pose, and sometimes they don't. [2020]

Charlotte, North Carolina, USA

♫ These Are a Few of My Favorite Things ♫ ~ World Globes: Cool Globes, right? That's the name of the exhibit along Tryon Street in Charlotte for the rest of the year. Each one has a story to tell about sustainability. Finding a world globe anywhere on the landscape is a real treat for geophiles! Expect to see more cool globes on Geographically Yours in 2021. [2020] 

Williams, Arizona, USA

Thanksgiving is over. Let the ride to Christmas begin! It is now, on this Monday after Thanksgiving, socially acceptable to proudly display your winter decorations. As for those who got Santa and the reindeer out of the attic on the day after Halloween: Shame on you! [2019]

New Paltz, New York, USA

Five years and counting.

Make the most of the next twelve.

Then starts adulthood.

[1995]

Cape May, New Jersey, USA

The Cape-to-Cape ferry across the mouth of the Delaware River connects Cape Henlopen, Delaware, with Cape May, New Jersey, where an historic light tower and beautiful broad beaches beckon the year around. [2020]

Lewes, Delaware, USA

Everyone who takes the Cape-to-Cape ferry across the mouth of the Delaware River gets to see Lewes's Harbor of Refuge Light. Wouldn't we all like to find a beacon of hope guiding us into our own personal harbor of refuge right now? Can you name the two capes connected by the ferry? [2020]

Narragansett, Rhode Island, USA

By virtue of its nickname, the Ocean State, Rhode Island has an enviable caboodle of lighthouses. Some, like Point Judith Light, are on extremities of the mainland; others are on islands; and still others are on the rivers that drain into the Narragansett Bay. Let's all give thanks for America's lighthouses. [2019]

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

People of Toronto: The Annex is a popular student-oriented neighborhood of Toronto that exhibits all the fine qualities of mixed-used development: plentiful services, arts opportunities, convenience, and walkability, all on top of a land use plan that was born almost 150 years ago. [2011]

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

People of Toronto: The Baldwin Steps (110 of them) transcend an escarpment that marks the edge of Lake Ontario's Pleistocene predecessor. Just think: They were almost wiped off the city's cultural landscape in the 1960s by an expressway! Now they are a major open space resource and recreational corridor. [2010]

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

People of Toronto: Toronto crossed the line in 2016 when the Census proclaimed it a majority minority city. For the first time, those of European descent were found to constitute less than half the population. But even those of Euro descent come in dozens and dozens of ethnicities. [2013]

Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

People of Melbourne: "If a rhinoceros was heading your way, you'd get out of the way, right? Well, a tram weighs about the same as 30 rhinos." The Yarra Trams that serve Melbourne, including the Queen Victoria Market, want people to be alert around trams, so they have dispatched a crash of rhinos around the city. Get it? Avoid the crash. [2011]

Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

People of Melbourne: After you exercise on or along Melbourne's Yarra River, head over to the old Queen Vic and treat yourself and your kids to some happiness. It's only a few blocks away. [2011]

Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

People of Melbourne: Most cities are short of open space, but Melbourne has the Yarra River. For some, it is a better open space resource than hectares of parkland. Even in winter (July!), the call to row is irresistible, and shells proliferate. [2011]

Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico

Plazas are typical of Mexican urbanism. Here, one of Guadalajara's neighborhoods boasts a plaza whose elements fit the model almost perfectly: (1) an ornate fountain, (2) a canopy of shade, (3) a brigade of whitewashed tree trunks,(4) a residential littoral, (5) an adulatory statue, and (5) an assemblage of people setting the re-set button. [2008]

South Mills, North Carolina, USA

South Mills is located at the southern edge of the Great Dismal Swamp, through which passes a segment of the original Intracoastal Waterway. It connects the Albemarle Sound with the Chesapeake Bay. Today, much of the traffic is pleasure boats. They must wait for scheduled openings of the draw bridges before they can pass. [2020]

Cape May, New Jersey, USA

"Thank You to everyone helping to get through this pandemic especially all the frontline works, delivery people, pharmacy and grocery employees, teachers and medical and essential employees. You are all Heroes!" And, thank you for spelling out what we all wanted to say. [2020]

New York, New York, USA

The handful of skinny towers that now cluster around the southern shore of Central Park are the face of vertical urbanism, an attempt to improve (1) the quality of the environment by using less land for urban expansion and (2) the quality of living by bringing people together in numbers enough to sustain a diversity of urban services both private and public. [2018]

Williamsburg, Virginia, USA

Duke of Gloucester (DOG!) Street has changed since last year at this time. Covid hit in March and everything closed. With summer, however, people wanted a return to normalcy. TJ (see him?) reminded them to abide by the science. That meant only open spaces would do for rekindling friendships. Voila! Tables where there were none before. [2020]

Palm Springs, California, USA

Windmills by the thousands provide Palm Springs (and environs) with electicity all year long. They take advantage of the Westerly winds gushing through the San Gordonio Pass. To the north and south, mountain ridges block the winds. Only here are they channeled eastward to create the windiest place in California. [2015]

Dewey Beach, Delaware, USA

It is Friday the 13th: Don't be afraid, but do be prepared for any bad luck that might come rushing at you from the deep-seated memories of childhood nightmares. It is rather common to live through two Friday the 13ths in a single year, but we will have to wait until 2026 to live through a year with three. The last time that occurred was 2015. [1995]

Phoenix, Arizona, USA

When the Evans House was built in 1893, Phoenix had a population of little more than 3,000 souls. Of that nineteenth-century past, only a few visual reminders remain. Here is one of them. Wrapped around it, in a rather harmonious relationship, is the Department of Environmental Quality. [2019]