Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Framingham, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Framingham and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Framingham
- 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 Framingham:
- 42.279009, -71.416644
- 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 Framingham
- 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 Middlesex County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Middlesex County
- Since Framingham is near Worcester County and also Norfolk County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Worcester County
- eBird sighting report for Norfolk 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 Framingham ...
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.
- Braggville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Braggville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Braggville
- Braggville is located in Middlesex County
- Camp Bob White
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Camp Bob White have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Camp Bob White
- Camp Bob White is located in Middlesex County
- Camp Breezy Meadow
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Camp Breezy Meadow have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Camp Breezy Meadow
- Camp Breezy Meadow is located in Norfolk County
- Camp Mary Day
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Camp Mary Day have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Camp Mary Day
- Camp Mary Day is located in Middlesex County
- Dover
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east) - Farm Street Station
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Farm Street Station have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Farm Street Station
- Farm Street Station is located in Norfolk County
- Fayville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fayville
- Fayville is located in Worcester County
- Grantville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Grantville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grantville
- Grantville is located in Norfolk County
- Pine Rest
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north) - Tower Hill
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tower Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tower Hill
- Tower Hill is located in Middlesex County
- Workmans Circle Camp
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Workmans Circle Camp have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Workmans Circle Camp
- Workmans Circle Camp is located in Middlesex County
How Far From Framingham to ...
We spend a lot of time looking through Gazetteers that were published in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Many of the Gazetteers include the distance from a community such as Framingham to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<2> beginning in Framingham and extending to:
- Cambridge, which is the Seat of Middlesex County, lies 16 miles [25.7 km]<2> to the east northeast. If you could walk a straight line from Framingham to Cambridge, with an average speed<3> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take most of a day to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take five to six hours.
- Boston, which is the State Capital of Massachusetts, lies 19 miles [30.6 km] to the east northeast (ENE). The buggy would take 6 hours and walking would take just over a day.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 375 miles [603.5 km] to the southwest (SW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take 6 hours, a buggy would take 15 days and walking would take 22 days.
- The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,522 miles [8,886.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,229 miles [10,024.6 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<6>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,105 miles [6,606.4 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<7>
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Framingham: www.framinghamma.org/
The official website for State of Massachusetts: https://www.mass.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' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Framingham) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Framingham. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.2790, Longitude: -71.4166 |
| <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 Framingham 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 304.201 degrees. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 299.811 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 300.773 degrees. |