Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Branson, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Branson and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Branson
- 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 Branson:
- 33.078100, -116.617242
- 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 Branson
- 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 San Diego County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for San Diego County
- Since Branson is near Riverside County, we have provided a link to its eBird sighting report:
- eBird sighting report for Riverside 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
Communities Also Named Branson ...
We found two communities that share the name Branson.
Within California, the name Branson is unique.
Beyond California, we know of another two communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Colorado
- Missouri
Curious and Interesting Names Near Branson ...
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.
- Eagles Nest
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Eagles Nest have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eagles Nest
- Eagles Nest is located in San Diego County
- Four Corners
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Four Corners have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Four Corners
- Four Corners is located in San Diego County
- Hellhole Palms
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hellhole Palms have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hellhole Palms
- Hellhole Palms is located in San Diego County
- Julian
(Less than 2 miles to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Julian
- Julian is located in San Diego County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Julian <3>
- Scissors Crossing
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Scissors Crossing have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scissors Crossing
- Scissors Crossing is located in San Diego County
- Stallion Oaks
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Stallion Oaks have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stallion Oaks
- Stallion Oaks is located in San Diego County
- Stonewall ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south) - Whispering Pines
(Less than 2 miles to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Whispering Pines have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whispering Pines
- Whispering Pines is located in San Diego County
How Far From Branson 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 Branson 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<5> community of Branson once stood, the straight-line distance beginning in Branson and extending to:
- San Diego, which is the Seat of San Diego County, lies 39 miles [62.8 km]<1> to the southwest. If you could walk a straight line from Branson to San Diego, with an average speed<6> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take over two days to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take just about two full days.
- Sacramento, which is the State Capital of California, lies 467 miles [751.6 km] to the northwest (NW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take most of a day, a buggy would take 19 days and walking would take 27 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 2,229 miles [3,587.2 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take 5 days, a buggy would take 87 days and walking would take 127 days.
- The shortest distance<7> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 7,589 miles [12,213.3 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<8>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 8,358 miles [13,450.9 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<9>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 6,327 miles [10,182.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<10>
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for San Diego County: www.sdcounty.ca.gov/
The official website for State of California: https://www.ca.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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- Branson) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Branson. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 33.0781, Longitude: -116.6172 In this case, the coordinates for Branson have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <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> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <4> | An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace. |
| <5> | 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 Branson, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <6> | 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. |
| <7> | 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 Branson to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 334.752 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 334.263 degrees. |
| <10> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 324.685 degrees. |