Farmland, Indiana, USA

Welcome to cognitive dissonance. Farmland is located in the North American Corn Belt. But, the grain elevator rising above Main Street just screams Wheat Belt, and the mural suggests there might just be a Tomato Belt somewhere nearby. [2018]

Waitsburg, Washington, USA

Grain mills usually receive grain. This one receives mail. It captures local color, exemplifies the Palouse's economic base, and transforms the roadside into a museum of shop projects. [2019]

Hendersonville, North Carolina, USA

It's just about two weeks to Valentine's Day. Better start shopping, for a card, at least, and a gift, at best. Of course, if your name were Valentine, everyday would be Valentine's Day. The name comes from Latin, meaning 'strong and healthy,' two words which apply strikingly well to the heart. [2012]

Cuba, Kansas, USA

What is the most produced staple crop in the world? Corn. Don't yawn! Only a few decades ago rice held that honor. Think: the mega-populations of China, Southeast Asia, and India. In fact, rice may still hold that honor if you consider that 45% of corn goes to the production of ethanol for powering internal combustion engines. [2009]

Bellows Falls, Vermont, USA

What services can a covered bridge provide? It can carry a couple of mailboxes for nearby residents. Alas, the original Hall covered bridge was destroyed by an overweight truck in 1980. Given Vermonters love of the bucolic, however, it was immediately rebuilt to exacting, authentic standards. Thank you Milton Graton.[2009]

Philippi, West Virginia, USA

The Philippi covered bridge (pronounced with a -pee at the end) spans the Tygart River. It is a rare double-barreled, two-lane bridge, a three-lane bridge if you count the outside pedestrian walkway. If you visit, be sure to take in the local museum where you will find a collection of human mummies from the late 1800s. [2021]

Stevens, Pennsylvania, USA

Bucher's Mill covered bridge is still open to traffic, both human and canine. It spans a waterway with one of the most colorful names in American toponymy: the Cocalico Creek. Across the region, though, there are more watercourses with equally entertaining names: Chiques, Conestoga, Conowingo, Conewago, Codorus, Conodoguinet, Conococheague. [2023]

Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

Escalators are not usually thought of as modes of mass transit, nor are they thought of as being outside. In Las Vegas, however, you don't always get what you expect. Along The Strip, escalators, elevators, and skywalks are used to keep people from crossing Las Vegas Boulevard at street level. [2019 and 2022]

Greenville, South Carolina

That wreath looks good as a necklace. For the season, at least, it puts the green in Greenville and accentuates the big dog and her riders. Thank you Dale Rogers. These days it is permissible to display Christmas decorations until the feast of Candlemas on February 2. Think the collar is still around her neck? It's been five weeks since Christmas. [2022]

Trieste, Italy

Some education will soon be going on here. There's a tot that is learning to ride a bike. See the training wheels? In Europe, it's a skill that lasts a lifetime. In the United States, it's a skill that is given up after a driver's license is issued and a car purchased. [2008]

Trieste, Italy

When you think of swimming in the Mediterranean, you probably don't conjure up landscapes like this. Instead, your mind goes to the Rivera and the Costa del Sol, with their long, sandy beaches. But, the Adriatic is different. [2008]

Trieste, Italy

A telamon is a male figure that uses his head and shoulders to hold something up. Telamons are usually associated with buildings but their individual job descriptions may be up-scaled or down-scaled. This one has been assigned the Fountain of the Titans. His cousin Atlas, however, has been assigned something bigger to bear: the whole earth! [2008]

Rabat, Morocco

River ferries can be just as important as sea ferries. These small boats await the opportunity to ferry people across the Bou Regreg River from Rabat to Salé. Of course, service may have been upgraded over the past three decades. [1989]

West End, Tortola, British Virgin Islands

Here is some guidance for predicting ferry connections in the Lesser Antilles. Islands close to one another will have daily connections. Islands far away will have no connection (fly!). Islands in between near and far will have limited connections, as in limited to several days a week. [2014]

Mellieha, Malta

Off to Gozo it goes. A ride on the Gozo Channel ferry allows you to see all three islands of the Maltese archipelago: Malta, Gozo, and Camino. Which two are visible here? In archipelagic states, ferry links are not a luxury; they are a necessity. [2009]

Muzaffarnagar, India

Looking rather traditional, these multi-generational men represent the Muslim population of Muzaffarnagar. Muslims are just slightly outnumbered by Hindus, which a decade ago meant there was reason for conflict. [2011]

Muzaffarnagar, India

Looking rather hip, and with enough disposable income for shopping (see the designer bag?) and cell phones, these young men represent the Hindu population of Muzaffarnagar. Questions: (1) Why would anyone wear a long-sleeve shirt in the humid subtropics during summer? (2) What is that huge mound in the background? [2011]

Muzaffarnagar, India

Muzaffarnagar is a name that does not settle well onto Anglophone ears, nor easily lodge in the Anglophone mind. Yet, it is one of the most important interstitial cities of the Gangetic Plain. It is located about half way between New Delhi and the famed and fabled city of Dehradun in the Himalayan foothills. On the way north is the pilgrimage city of Haridwar. [2011]

Boston, Massachusetts, USA

A victim of Friday the Thirteenth? Are you superstitious enough to avoid flying today? If you were in Stockholm, would you board Finnair Flight 666 to Hel today? Hel, of course, refers to Finland's capital. The flight is always full. [2021]

Huntington, West Virginia, USA

The giraffe seems to be another town's spirit animal, this one all decked out in pink and green. What characteristics do the town and the giraffe share? Maybe Huntington promotes non-conformity: This giraffe seems to be non-conforming in both how it dresses and where it is located. [2022]

Dana, Indiana, USA

The giraffe is obviously the town's spirit animal, and just as obviously provides a corporeal residence for the town's spirit of place. What lesson does the giraffe teach? Because they are so tall, giraffes can get a bird's-eye view of the big picture, even without being a bird. That's what we all need. It might just lift us all out of our petty little echo chambers. [2015]

Elizabeth City, North Carolina, USA

Retired, with two dogs and a boat. For them, it must be a dream come true. The Pasquotank River and the re-purposed Elizabeth City waterfront make a beautiful backdrop for the day's activities. The captain and his first mate may be navigating the Intracoastal Waterway with enough time to explore some of the Albemarle's tidal creeks. [2020]

Columbia, South Carolina, USA

Artists, like geographers, are adept at exploiting scale. What you are looking at may be the world's largest fireplug, deliberately scaled up to outsize the one in Beaumont, Texas. By the way, the Jersey barriers are part of the sculpture. [2016]

Beaumont, Texas, USA

What breed? A Dalmatian, of course: announcing the importance of Beaumont's fire fighting museum. The outsized sculpture goes back to a time when Dalmatians were all over the cinematic arts world. Was this fire hydrant donated to Beaumont by Walt Disney in 1989, 1999, or 2009? Yes, this is a test of your knowledge of movie history. [2022]

Carlisle, Pennsylvania, USA

If you happen to catch the unveiling of a historical marker, consider yourself lucky. Usually there is only a small gaggle of people lurking around. Some have been asked to take an active role in the ceremony. Others have planned their day around being a spectator. Still others (me!) just happen to be in the right place at the right time. [1982]

 

Gulf Breeze, Florida, USA

If you live in Florida, you may spot some parakeets at your back-yard feeder. They are descendants of house pets which have been set loose and gone wild. Albeit invasive, at least parakeets are colorful and cute. The rest of the world calls them budgies, by the way. [2018]

Sanders, Kentucky, USA

Under the gable: K + B in Love. The interior of this declining barn (no longer needed for farming) may now look like a parking garage, but the exterior has become a lodge for the spirit of place. How do you personalize your landscape? [2022]

Laurel, Delaware, USA

It may be called a potato house, but it is really a potato barn, a place where potatoes, especially sweet potatoes, could be stored as they were harvested every fall. Temperatures had to be controlled (see the chimney?) and air had to be kept circulating (see the high-up ventilation doors?). Unique to Delaware and Maryland, few remain on the landscape. [2022]

Myerstown, Pennsylvania, USA

Two locational elements are worth noting about this proud brick-end barn. First, it is located in the Lebanon Valley, where it is just a little out of place. Most brick-end barns are located west of the Susquehanna and in Maryland. Second, it is located on the edge of Myerstown, where it could easily be converted to a nursery, rather than in the country. [2023]

Hartford, Connecticut, USA

Even before January was designated as the first month of the year by the Roman Emperor, it had already been named after Janus, the god of time and new beginnings. He is typically depicted with two faces, one looking forward and one back: just like this calf, now a museum exhibit in Connecticut's Old State House. [2022]

White River Junction, Vermont, USA

Happy New Year! January has been the first month of the year since 153 BC. Before that (and in some parts of the West, long after that), the new year began in March. Which one seems more logical to you? [2022]