Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Thurston, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Thurston and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Thurston
- 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 Thurston:
- 39.280104, -77.358041
- 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 Thurston
- 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:
- eBird sighting report for Frederick County
- Since Thurston is near Montgomery County and also Loudoun County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Montgomery County
- eBird sighting report for Loudoun 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 Thurston ...
We found twelve communities that share the name Thurston.
Within Maryland, the name Thurston is unique.
Beyond Maryland, we know of another twelve communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Alabama
- Florida
- Georgia
- Nebraska
- Douglas County
- This community is historic<3> and although located in Douglas County, we don't know where within the county.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Douglas County community of Thurston.
- Thurston County
- This Thurston is located in Thurston County and lies 1,029 miles [1,656 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Thurston that is located in Frederick County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Thurston County community of Thurston.
- New York
- North Carolina
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- Texas
- Virginia
Curious and Interesting Names Near Thurston ...
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.
- Big Woods Estates
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Big Woods Estates have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Woods Estates
- Big Woods Estates is located in Frederick County
- Burnt Hickory
(Less than 2 miles to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Burnt Hickory have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burnt Hickory
- Burnt Hickory is located in Frederick County
- Flint Hill
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Flint Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flint Hill
- Flint Hill is located in Frederick County
- Green Valley
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Green Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Valley
- Green Valley is located in Frederick County
- Greenfield Mills
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Greenfield Mills have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenfield Mills
- Greenfield Mills is located in Frederick County
- Heritage Hills
(Less than 2 miles to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Heritage Hills have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heritage Hills
- Heritage Hills is located in Frederick County
- Hickory Hill
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hickory Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hickory Hill
- Hickory Hill is located in Montgomery County
- Hope Hill
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest) - Hope Valley Hills
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hope Valley Hills have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hope Valley Hills
- Hope Valley Hills is located in Frederick County
- Michaels Mill
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Michaels Mill have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Michaels Mill
- Michaels Mill is located in Frederick County
- Miles Corner
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Miles Corner have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Miles Corner
- Miles Corner is located in Montgomery County
- Park Mills
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Park Mills have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Park Mills
- Park Mills is located in Frederick County
- Continue List (6 more) ...
- Pleasant Grove
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pleasant Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Grove
- Pleasant Grove is located in Frederick County
- Rangers Woods
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rangers Woods have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rangers Woods
- Rangers Woods is located in Frederick County
- Rolling Green
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rolling Green have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rolling Green
- Rolling Green is located in Frederick County
- Stone Barn Station
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Stone Barn Station have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stone Barn Station
- Stone Barn Station is located in Frederick County
- Stronghold
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Stronghold have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stronghold
- Stronghold is located in Frederick County
- Sugarloaf Vista
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sugarloaf Vista have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sugarloaf Vista
- Sugarloaf Vista is located in Montgomery County
- Pleasant Grove
How Far From Thurston 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 Thurston to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Thurston and extending to:
- Frederick, which is the Seat of Frederick County, lies 9 miles [14.5 km]<1> to the north northwest. If you could walk a straight line from Thurston to Frederick, with an average speed<5> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take four to five hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take a little over three hours.
- Annapolis, which is the State Capital of Maryland, lies 50 miles [80.5 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than an hour, a buggy would take most of two days and walking would take most of three days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 31 miles [49.9 km] to the south southeast (SSE). Driving would take less than an hour, a buggy would take just over a day and walking would take most of two days.
- The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,895 miles [9,487.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,602 miles [10,624.9 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,479 miles [7,208.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Thurston. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Frederick County: www.co.frederick.md.us/
The official website for State of Maryland: www.maryland.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Thurston) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Thurston. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 39.2801, Longitude: -77.3580 In this case, the coordinates for Thurston have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <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 Rock Creek to see Pete ... Rock 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 Thurston 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> | 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 Thurston, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | 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. |
| <5> | 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. |
| <6> | 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 Thurston to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 308.055 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 303.686 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 304.703 degrees. |