Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Alanson, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Alanson and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Alanson
- 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 Alanson:
- 45.442509, -84.787088
- 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 Alanson
- 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 Emmet County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Emmet County
- Since Alanson is near Cheboygan County and also Charlevoix County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Cheboygan County
- eBird sighting report for Charlevoix 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 Alanson ...
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.
- Cold Springs
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cold Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cold Springs
- Cold Springs is located in Cheboygan County
- Epsilon
(5 miles [8 km] to the south) - Harbor Point
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Harbor Point have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harbor Point
- Harbor Point is located in Emmet County
- Harbor Springs
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Harbor Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harbor Springs
- Harbor Springs is located in Emmet County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,203 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Harbor Springs <2>
- Indian River
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Indian River have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian River
- Indian River is located in Cheboygan County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Indian River <2>
- Indianville
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Indianville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indianville
- Indianville is located in Cheboygan County
- Pleasant View
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pleasant View have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant View
- Pleasant View is located in Emmet County
- Roaring Brook
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Roaring Brook have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roaring Brook
- Roaring Brook is located in Emmet County
- Royal Oak Beach
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Royal Oak Beach have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Royal Oak Beach
- Royal Oak Beach is located in Cheboygan County
- Wildwood
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
How Far From Alanson 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 village such as Alanson to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<3> beginning in Alanson and extending to:
- Petoskey, which is the Seat of Emmet County, lies 9 miles [14.5 km]<3> to the west southwest. If you could walk a straight line from Alanson to Petoskey, with an average speed<4> 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.
- Lansing, which is the State Capital of Michigan, lies 187 miles [300.9 km] to the south (S). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take a little over three hours, a buggy would take 8 days and walking would take 11 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 600 miles [965.6 km] to the southeast (SE). Driving would take just over a day, a buggy would take 24 days and walking would take 34 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,910 miles [9,511.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,653 miles [10,707 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 Alanson. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Emmet County: www.co.emmet.mi.us/
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' (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- Alanson) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Alanson. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 45.4425, Longitude: -84.7871 In this case, the coordinates for Alanson 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 Alanson 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 312.42 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 309.566 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 305.949 degrees. |