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Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Ann Arbor, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Ann Arbor 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 Ann Arbor:
- 42.280365, -83.740902
- 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 Ann Arbor
- 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 Washtenaw County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- Open the eBird sighting report for Washtenaw County
- Since Ann Arbor is near Wayne County and also Livingston County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- Open the eBird sighting report for Wayne County
- Open the eBird sighting report for Livingston 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 Ann Arbor
Curious and Interesting Names Near Ann Arbor ...
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.
- Cherry Hill
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Cherry Hill is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherry Hill
- Dover
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Fourmile Lake
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Fourmile Lake is located in Washtenaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fourmile Lake
- Fourmile Lake has also been known as:
- Four Mile Lake
- Jerusalem
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Jerusalem is located in Washtenaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jerusalem
- Lincoln
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Lincoln is located in Washtenaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lincoln
- Paint Creek
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Paint Creek is located in Washtenaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paint Creek
- Rogers Corner
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Rogers Corner is located in Washtenaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rogers Corner
- Saline
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Stony Creek
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Superior
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Superior is located in Washtenaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Superior
- Willow Run
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Willow Run is located in Washtenaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willow Run
How Far From Ann Arbor 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 city such as Ann Arbor to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<2> beginning in Ann Arbor and extending to:
- Lansing, which is the State Capital of Michigan, lies 51 miles [82.1 km]<2> to the northwest (NW). If you could walk a straight line from Ann Arbor to Lansing, 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 most of two days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 421 miles [677.5 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take most of a day, a buggy would take 17 days and walking would take 24 days.
- The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,018 miles [9,685 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,750 miles [10,863.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,629 miles [7,449.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>'
Footnotes ...
| <1> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <2> | 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- Ann Arbor) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <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 Ann Arbor 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 Ann Arbor. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.2804, Longitude: -83.7409 |
| <5> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 311.876 degrees. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 308.478 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 306.531 degrees. |
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