Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Asphalto, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Asphalto and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Asphalto
- 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 Asphalto:
- 35.304687, -119.600956
- 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 Asphalto
- Bird Watching ...
- We enjoy finding new spots for bird watching and we use the eBird website for local sighting reports and to help identify hotspots.
- The eBird website is organized on a county-by-county basis. We have selected Kern County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Kern County
- Since Asphalto is near San Luis Obispo County and also Santa Barbara County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for San Luis Obispo County
- eBird sighting report for Santa Barbara County
- 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
Curious and Interesting Names Near Asphalto ...
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.
- Buttonwillow
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buttonwillow
- Buttonwillow is located in Kern County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Buttonwillow <1>
- Fellows
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fellows
- Fellows is located in Kern County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fellows <1>
- Ford City
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast) - Kilowatt
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast) - Leonards ‑ Historic
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast) - Mexican Colony
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mexican Colony have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mexican Colony
- Mexican Colony is located in Kern County
- Missouri Triangle
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Missouri Triangle have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Missouri Triangle
- Missouri Triangle is located in Kern County
- Reward ‑ Historic
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reward
- Reward is located in Kern County
- Spicer City
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Spicer City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spicer City
- Spicer City is located in Kern County
- Strand ‑ Historic
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
How Far From Asphalto to ...
We spend a lot of time looking through Gazetteers & Almanacs that were published in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Many of the Gazetteers include the distance from a community such as Asphalto to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers and using the location of where the historic<3> community of Asphalto once stood, the straight-line distance<4> beginning in Asphalto and extending to:
- Bakersfield, which is the Seat of Kern County, lies 31 miles [49.9 km]<4> to the east. If you could walk a straight line from Asphalto to Bakersfield, with an average speed<5> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take most of two days to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take just over a day.
- Sacramento, which is the State Capital of California, lies 248 miles [399.1 km] to the north northwest (NNW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take nearly four hours, a buggy would take 10 days and walking would take 14 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 2,336 miles [3,759.4 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take 5 days, a buggy would take 92 days and walking would take 133 days.
- The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 7,518 miles [12,099 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 8,286 miles [13,335 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 6,297 miles [10,134 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Kern County: www.co.kern.ca.us/
The official website for State of California: https://www.ca.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <2> | 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. |
| <3> | We use the term 'Historic' broadly and it generally means that the community no longer exists. However, it can also mean that the community might still exist, but was significantly larger or had a more 'official' existence in the past than it does now. Unfortunately our sources of data have proven to be unreliable. If you can provide us with more specific information about Asphalto, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Asphalto) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Asphalto. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 35.3047, Longitude: -119.6010 In this case, the coordinates for Asphalto have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <5> | 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. |
| <6> | 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 Asphalto to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 337.541 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 337.804 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 326.444 degrees. |