Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Alabaster Junction, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Alabaster Junction and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Alabaster 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 Alabaster Junction:
- 44.245851, -83.563588
- 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 Alabaster 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 Iosco County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Iosco County
- Since Alabaster Junction is near Arenac County and also Ogemaw County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Arenac County
- eBird sighting report for Ogemaw 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 Alabaster 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.
- Alabaster
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south) - Cedar Haven
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cedar Haven have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Haven
- Cedar Haven is located in Iosco County
- Hemlock
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west) - Meadow
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west) - National City
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for National City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for National City
- National City is located in Iosco County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for National City <2>
- Sand Lake
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest) - Turtle
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest) - Twining
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
How Far From Alabaster Junction 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 Alabaster Junction to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<3> beginning in Alabaster Junction and extending to:
- Tawas City, which is the Seat of Iosco County, lies just to the Northeast.
- Lansing, which is the State Capital of Michigan, lies 115 miles [185.1 km]<3> to the south southwest (SSW). If you could drive a straight line from Alabaster Junction to Lansing, with an average speed<4>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take about two hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 7 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 5 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 499 miles [803.1 km] to the southeast (SE). Driving would take most of a day, a buggy would take 20 days and walking would take 29 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,921 miles [9,528.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,659 miles [10,716.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,542 miles [7,309.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Alabaster Junction. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Iosco County: www.iosco.m33access.com/
The official website for State of Michigan: https://www.michigan.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> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <3> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Alabaster Junction) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Alabaster Junction. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 44.2459, Longitude: -83.5636 In this case, the coordinates for Alabaster Junction have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <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 Alabaster Junction to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 311.668 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 308.538 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 305.75 degrees. |