Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy).
When in Lakes, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Lakes and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Lakes
- Astronomy & Satellites ...
- Whether using binoculars, a small telescope or the naked-eye, the Heavens-Above website can help you to find your way around the night-time sky. In addition to detailed sky charts, their website will help you find planets, asteriods, comets, satellites and their tracks across the sky.
- To give accurate results, Heavens-Above requires the latitude and longitude of your location. As a starting point, when we link to Heavens-Above, we pass this GPS location for Lakes:
- 61.60696, -149.30545
- Once you're on the Heavens-Above website, you can improve its accuracy by giving a more precise longitude and latitude as your actual position.
- The Heavens-Above Website, centered on Lakes
- Waymarking ...
- Looking for somewhere out of the ordinary? Find a unique place and want to share it with others? Then it's time to visit Waymarking.com:
- Waymark.com
Communities Also Named Lakes ...
We found eleven communities that share the name Lakes.
Within Alaska, the name Lakes is unique.
Beyond Alaska, we know of another eleven communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- Georgia
- Kentucky
- Maryland
- Minnesota
- Nevada
- North Carolina
- Virginia
- Bedford County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<2> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Virginia community of Lakes [Bedford County].
- Virginia Beach City
- This Lakes is located in Virginia Beach City and lies 3,482 miles [5,603.7 km]<1> to the east.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Virginia Beach City community of Lakes.
- Washington
Curious and Interesting Names Near Lakes ...
As we travel, we always see a community with a name that gives pause. While there are names which are interesting or familiar, some catch our attention or strike our fancy. We always wonder about such a name. If time permits and the community is not too far, we'll usually try to make a side-trip.
- Birchwood
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south) - Buffalo Soapstone
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buffalo Soapstone
- Cottonwood
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cottonwood have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cottonwood
- Farm Loop
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Farm Loop
- Fishhook
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fishhook
- Jonesville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Jonesville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jonesville
- Lazy Mountain
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lazy Mountain have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lazy Mountain
- Lucky Shot Landing
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lucky Shot Landing have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lucky Shot Landing
- Meadow Lakes
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Meadow Lakes have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadow Lakes
- Peters Creek
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Peters Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peters Creek
How Far From Lakes to ...
We spend a lot of time looking through Gazetteers, Almanacs & Directories that were published in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Many of the Gazetteers include the distance from a community such as Lakes to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Lakes and extending to:
- Juneau, which is the State Capital of Alaska, lies 561 miles [902.8 km]<1> to the east southeast (ESE). If you could drive a straight line from Lakes to Juneau, with an average speed<4>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take just over a day to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 32 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 22 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 3,335 miles [5,367.2 km] to the east (E). Driving would take 7 days, a buggy would take 131 days and walking would take 190 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,975 miles [9,615.8 km] and it lies to the north (N).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,673 miles [10,739.2 km] and it lies to the north (N).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,209 miles [8,383.1 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for State of Alaska: alaska.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Lakes) to Point B. |
| <2> | If we encounter the name of what might be a community, our methodology is to add that name to our Gazetteer as a placeholder. As we find more information about that community, it will be added to our Gazetteer. Just as a reminder: Our definition of a community is rather broad and includes those places (or areas) where several families lived and had a name which identified that place. For example, you might hear somebody say that they are going over to Rock Creek to see Pete ... Rock Creek is just a gas station and a couple of homes at the crossroads. While it might not be on the map, everybody in the area knows it by that name. Places of interest include buildings at a crossroad, several families clustered in a hollow or maybe the location of a way station. It also includes places like mines, lumber camps, ferry crossings, etc. The community might still exist, is now gone or only existed for just a short period of time. Also keep in mind that Lakes could have been on the original document by mistake, misspelled, the original/alternate name of a community that we've listed elsewhere or was placed in the wrong . Sometimes a post office or train station would have a different name than the community where it's located, so two names might be referring to the same community - we're working to straighten it all out. |
| <3> | The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required. |
| <4> | While we have tried to pick reasonable speeds, the rate of travel is very theoretical - obstacles like fences, hills, lakes, river crossings and rest stops have been ignored. When we say 'Days' of travel, we're assuming 8 hours of travel per day. |
| <5> | The shortest line can be visualized by stretching a string on a Globe from Point A to Point B - this is known as a Great Circle Route. Where you might expect the shortest route from Lakes to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 3.866 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 8.554 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 346.072 degrees. |