Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Austen, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Austen and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Austen
- 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 Austen:
- 39.388148, -79.800898
- 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 Austen
- 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 Preston County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Preston County
- Since Austen is near Monongalia County and also Taylor County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Monongalia County
- eBird sighting report for Taylor 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 Austen ...
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.
- Camp Ground
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Camp Ground have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Camp Ground
- Camp Ground is located in Preston County
- Chestnut Ridge
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Chestnut Ridge have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chestnut Ridge
- Chestnut Ridge is located in Monongalia County
- Fellowsville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fellowsville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fellowsville
- Fellowsville is located in Preston County
- Hardman
(5 miles [8 km] to the west) - Independence
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Independence have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Independence
- Independence is located in Preston County
- Israel
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south) - Kanetown
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast) - Mountain View
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mountain View have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountain View
- Mountain View is located in Preston County
- Oriole ‑ Historic
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north) - Scotch Hill
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Scotch Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scotch Hill
- Scotch Hill is located in Preston County
- Threefork Bridge
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Threefork Bridge
- Threefork Bridge is located in Preston County
How Far From Austen 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 Austen to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<2> beginning in Austen and extending to:
- Kingwood, which is the Seat of Preston County, lies just to the Northeast.
- Charleston, which is the State Capital of West Virginia, lies 121 miles [194.7 km]<2> to the southwest (SW). If you could drive a straight line from Austen to Charleston, with an average speed<3>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take about two hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 7 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 5 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 151 miles [243 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving would take less than three hours, a buggy would take 6 days and walking would take 9 days.
- The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,992 miles [9,643.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,705 miles [10,790.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,581 miles [7,372.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Austen. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for State of West Virginia: https://www.wv.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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. |
| <2> | 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 from Point A (ie- Austen) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Austen. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 39.3881, Longitude: -79.8009 In this case, the coordinates for Austen have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <3> | 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. |
| <4> | 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 Austen to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <5> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 309.517 degrees. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 305.364 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 305.717 degrees. |