Outdoor Activities ...

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

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

• Weather ...
  • Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
  • The National Weather Service forecast for Ottawa Junction

• 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 Ottawa Junction:
  • 38.634177, -95.269696
  • 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 Ottawa Junction

• 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 Franklin County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
  • Open the eBird sighting report for Franklin County
  • Since Ottawa Junction is near Douglas County and also Miami County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
  • Open the eBird sighting report for Douglas County
  • Open the eBird sighting report for Miami 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 Ottawa Junction

Curious and Interesting Names Near Ottawa Junction ...

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.

• Black Jack ‑ Historic
  (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Black Jack is located in Douglas County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Jack
• Globe
  (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Globe is located in Douglas County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Globe
• Homewood
  (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Homewood is located in Franklin County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Homewood
• Lane
  (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Lane is located in Franklin County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lane
  • Population from the 2020 Census: 229 people
  • Lane has also been known as:
  • Lane City
  • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lane <1>
• Lone Star
  (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
  • Lone Star is located in Douglas County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lone Star
• Michigan Valley
  (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
  • Michigan Valley is located in Osage County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Michigan Valley
• Pleasant Grove
  (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
  • Pleasant Grove is located in Douglas County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Grove
• Ransomville
  (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Ransomville is located in Franklin County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ransomville
• Silkville
  (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Silkville is located in Franklin County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silkville
  • Silkville has also been known as:
  • Boissiere Silk Farm
  • Valeton

How Far From Ottawa Junction 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 Ottawa Junction to various places of note, such as the White House.

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<2> beginning in Ottawa Junction and extending to:

• Ottawa, which is the Seat of Franklin County, lies just to the South.
• Topeka, which is the State Capital of Kansas, lies 35 miles [56.3 km]<2> to the northwest (NW). If you could walk a straight line from Ottawa Junction to Topeka, with an average speed<3> 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 about two full days.
• The White House (Washington, DC) is 980 miles [1,577.2 km] to the east (E). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take most of two days, a buggy would take 39 days and walking would take 56 days.
• The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,620 miles [10,653.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
• The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,366 miles [11,854.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
• The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,255 miles [8,457.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>'