RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Maryland >> Frederick County >> Aspen >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

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

  • 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 Aspen:
    • 39.418714, -77.318595
    • 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 Aspen
  • 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 Frederick County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Frederick County
    • Since Aspen is near Montgomery County and also Carroll County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Montgomery County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Carroll 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 Aspen

Communities Also Named Aspen ...

We found five communities that are also named Aspen.

Within Maryland, the name Aspen is unique.

Beyond Maryland, we know of five communities that are located in the United States and Canada. Of these five communities, four are located in the United States and one is in Canada.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Colorado
      • Pitkin County
      • This Aspen is located in Pitkin County and lies 1,570 miles [2,526.7 km]<1> to the west of the Aspen that is located in Frederick County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Pitkin County community of Aspen.
    • North Carolina
      • Warren County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<2> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the North Carolina community of Aspen [Warren County].
    • Nova Scotia
      • This Aspen lies 877 miles [1,411.4 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Aspen that is located in Frederick County.
    • Virginia
      • Charlotte County
      • This Aspen is located in Charlotte County and lies 183 miles [294.5 km]<1> to the south southwest of the Aspen that is located in Frederick County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Charlotte County community of Aspen.
    • Wyoming
      • Uinta County
      • This Aspen is located in Uinta County and lies 1,753 miles [2,821.2 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Aspen that is located in Frederick County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Uinta County community of Aspen.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Aspen ...

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.

  • Alpine
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
    • Alpine is located in Frederick County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alpine
  • Chestnut Grove
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Chestnut Grove is located in Frederick County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chestnut Grove
  • Clear View
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Clear View is located in Frederick County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clear View
  • Coldstream
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Coldstream is located in Frederick County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coldstream
  • Dennis ‑ Historic
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Dennis is located in Frederick County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dennis
  • Discovery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Discovery is located in Frederick County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Discovery
  • Elliot
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Elliot is located in Frederick County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elliot
  • Hartman
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Hartman is located in Frederick County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartman
  • Hickory Hill
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Hickory Hill is located in Frederick County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hickory Hill
  • Honey Hill
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Honey Hill is located in Frederick County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Honey Hill
  • Hoot'N Hollow
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Hoot'N Hollow is located in Frederick County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hoot'N Hollow
  • Hunting Hills
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Hunting Hills is located in Frederick County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hunting Hills
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...
    • Islands of Balmoral
      (Less than 2 miles to the east)
      • Islands of Balmoral is located in Frederick County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Islands of Balmoral
    • Longview
      (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
      • Longview is located in Frederick County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Longview
    • Martin
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
      • Martin is located in Frederick County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Martin
    • Meadows
      (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
      • Meadows is located in Frederick County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadows
    • Mount Pleasant
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
      • Mount Pleasant is located in Frederick County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Pleasant
    • Nightingale
      (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
      • Nightingale is located in Frederick County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nightingale
    • Peace and Plenty
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
      • Peace and Plenty is located in Frederick County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peace and Plenty
    • Pleasant Heights
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
      • Pleasant Heights is located in Frederick County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Heights
    • Pleasant Oaks
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
      • Pleasant Oaks is located in Frederick County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Oaks
    • Pleasant Ridge
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
      • Pleasant Ridge is located in Frederick County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Ridge
    • Scouts Knoll
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
      • Scouts Knoll is located in Frederick County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scouts Knoll
    • Silver Hill
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
      • Silver Hill is located in Frederick County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver Hill
    • Ten Oaks
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
      • Ten Oaks is located in Frederick County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ten Oaks
    • Tulip Hill
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
      • Tulip Hill is located in Frederick County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tulip Hill
    • Windy Hill
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Windy Hill is located in Frederick County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Windy Hill
    • Woodspring
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Woodspring is located in Frederick County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodspring

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

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Aspen and extending to:

  • Frederick, which is the Seat of Frederick County, lies just to the West.
  • Annapolis, which is the State Capital of Maryland, lies 53 miles [85.3 km]<1> to the southeast (SE). If you could walk a straight line from Aspen to Annapolis, with an average speed<3> 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 over two days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 39 miles [62.8 km] to the south southeast (SSE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than an hour, a buggy would take just about two full days and walking would take over two days.
  • The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,887 miles [9,474.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,595 miles [10,613.6 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<6>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,471 miles [7,195.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>'

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 from Point A (ie- Aspen) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<2>If we encounter the name of what might be a community, our methodology is to add that name to our Gazetteer as a placeholder. As we find more information about that community, it will be added to our Gazetteer.

Just as a reminder: Our definition of a community is rather broad and includes those places (or areas) where several families lived and had a name which identified that place. For example, you might hear somebody say that they are going over to Bird Creek to see Pete ... Bird Creek is just a gas station and a couple of homes at the crossroads. While it might not be on the map, everybody in the area knows it by that name.

Places of interest include buildings at a crossroad, several families clustered in a hollow or maybe the location of a way station. It also includes places like mines, lumber camps, ferry crossings, etc. The community might still exist, is now gone or only existed for just a short period of time.

Also keep in mind that Aspen could have been on the original document by mistake, misspelled, the original/alternate name of a community that we've listed elsewhere or was placed in the wrong county. Sometimes a post office or train station would have a different name than the community where it's located, so two names might be referring to the same community - we're working to straighten it all out.
<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 Aspen 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 Aspen. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 39.4187, Longitude: -77.3186       In this case, the coordinates for Aspen have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 308.023 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 303.671 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 304.632 degrees.