Friday, October 8, 2010

OTBR: Moose Hunting in Finland

Latitude: 60.2029 N
Longitude: 22.9639 E

A child on a road trip with his family asks, "Where are we?" and the father answers, "Let's check the map. We're off the blue roads [the Interstate Highways marked in blue on the road atlas]. We're off the red roads [the US and state highways]. We're off the black roads [the county highways]. I think we're off the map altogether." It was always my dream to be off the map altogether.

After the jump, a few of the random places (and I mean random literally) that I visited vicariously last month that are "off the blue roads".


  • in the Lakiassuo marsh of Finland past very dense forest of spruces and delicious penny bun bolet (Boletus edulis) mushrooms!
  • at the far end of a very narrow one lane unmaintained path through the Appalachian foothills of Virginia, where the scattered houses are almost invisible through the moderate forest
  • on public land in Oregon, in a patch of exposed lava after a hike on a rough track and a bush walk through dry and dusty juniper-sage scabland
  • unreachable through private land surrounding Brazil's Lagoa da Encanta
  • in Middlestown, UK, nearly under a viaduct on land belonging to a business selling animal feed
  • in Oxnard, California, in a new neighborhood park in a new housing and commercial development along the Santa Clara River
  • in a Melbourne suburb, in the untidy front lawn of a large brick veneer house lacking a front fence
  • in the living room of a million dollar house with a million dollar view across the street from California's Carona del Mar Beach
  • a drive-by near UK's Luton Airport and near the ruins of the 15th century Someries Castle
  • in Pennsylvania, behind the parking lot of The Original Bailey's Rib & Steak House, next to a field of goldenrod with monarch butterflies having a feast
  • in the rich farmland of western Kentucky along the meandering Mississippi River, next to a couple of large metal farm storage buildings
  • in a soy bean field in Ohio where there was more ragweed than soy bean ("The ragweed was a good four feet tall. I am definitely glad that the ragweed had not bloomed yet.")
  • in a soybean field, now golden and about ready for harvest, in the Loess Hills of Iowa with lots of quaint, small, and irregular fields tucked into valleys and flat spots
  • in acres and acres of Roma tomatoes in California's central valley
  • in a clump of trees in rolling hills southwest of St. Louis, along a gravel drive with beautiful views
  • and on a sports ground in the small town of Endrup, Denmark

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