RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of California >> Kern County >> Packwood >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).

When in Packwood, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Packwood and the surrounding area.

  • Weather ...
  • 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 Packwood:
    • 35.587466, -120.060143
    • 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.
    • Open the Heavens-Above website centered on Packwood
  • 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:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Kern County
    • Since Packwood is near San Luis Obispo County and also Kings County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for San Luis Obispo County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Kings 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:
    • Open the Waymark.com report for Packwood

Communities Also Named Packwood ...

We found four communities that are also named Packwood.

Within California, the name Packwood is unique.

Beyond California, we know of four communities that are located in the United States.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Florida
      • Hillsborough County
      • This Packwood is located in Hillsborough County and lies 2,254 miles [3,627.5 km]<1> to the east of the Packwood that is located in Kern County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Hillsborough County community of Packwood.
    • Iowa
      • Jefferson County
      • This Packwood is located in Jefferson County and lies 1,555 miles [2,502.5 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Packwood that is located in Kern County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Jefferson County community of Packwood.
      • Keokuk County
      • This community is historic<2> and although located in Keokuk County, we don't know where within the county.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Keokuk County community of Packwood.
    • Washington
      • Lewis County
      • This Packwood is located in Lewis County and lies 765 miles [1,231.1 km]<1> to the north of the Packwood that is located in Kern County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Lewis County community of Packwood.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Packwood ...

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.

  • California Valley
    (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • California Valley is located in San Luis Obispo County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for California Valley
  • Kecks Corner
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Kecks Corner is located in Kern County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kecks Corner
  • Lost Hills
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
  • Martinez Place
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Martinez Place is located in San Luis Obispo County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Martinez Place
  • Missouri Triangle
    (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • Missouri Triangle is located in Kern County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Missouri Triangle
  • Navajo ‑ Historic
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Navajo is located in San Luis Obispo County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Navajo
  • Reef Station
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Reef Station is located in Kings County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reef Station
  • Todd Place
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • Todd Place is located in San Luis Obispo County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Todd Place

How Far From Packwood 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 Packwood 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 community of Packwood once stood, the straight-line distance beginning in Packwood and extending to:

  • Bakersfield, which is the Seat of Kern County, lies 59 miles [95 km]<1> to the east southeast. If you could walk a straight line from Packwood to Bakersfield, with an average speed<4> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take most of three days to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take about three full days.
  • Sacramento, which is the State Capital of California, lies 221 miles [355.7 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 9 days and walking would take 13 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 2,354 miles [3,788.4 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take 5 days, a buggy would take 92 days and walking would take 134 days.
  • The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 7,509 miles [12,084.6 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<6>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 8,278 miles [13,322.1 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<7>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 6,295 miles [10,130.8 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<8>'

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 obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Packwood) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<2>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 Packwood, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<3>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<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 Packwood to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Packwood. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 35.5875, Longitude: -120.0601       In this case, the coordinates for Packwood have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 337.962 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 338.331 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 326.72 degrees.