Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Francis Grove, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Francis Grove and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Francis Grove
- 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 Francis Grove:
- 43.720861, -84.390001
- 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 Francis Grove
- 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 Midland County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Midland County
- Since Francis Grove is near Gladwin County and also Bay County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Gladwin County
- eBird sighting report for Bay 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 Francis Grove ...
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.
- Bombay
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east) - Bullock Creek
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bullock Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bullock Creek
- Bullock Creek is located in Midland County
- Dale
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north) - Dice Corners
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dice Corners have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dice Corners
- Dice Corners is located in Midland County
- Edenville
(5 miles [8 km] to the north) - Floyd
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south) - Gordonville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gordonville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gordonville
- Gordonville is located in Midland County
- Hope
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hope have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hope
- Hope is located in Midland County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hope <2>
- Lyle
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
How Far From Francis Grove to ...
We spend a lot of time looking through Gazetteers & Almanacs that were published in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Many of the Gazetteers include the distance from a community such as Francis Grove to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<3> beginning in Francis Grove and extending to:
- Midland, which is the Seat of Midland County, lies 10 miles [16.1 km]<3> to the southeast. If you could walk a straight line from Francis Grove to Midland, 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 68 miles [109.4 km] to the south (S). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than two hours, a buggy would take about three full days and walking would take three full days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 505 miles [812.7 km] to the southeast (SE). Driving would take just over 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 5,975 miles [9,615.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,713 miles [10,803.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,597 miles [7,398.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Francis Grove. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Midland County: www.co.midland.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 '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- Francis Grove) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Francis Grove. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 43.7209, Longitude: -84.3900 In this case, the coordinates for Francis Grove 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 Francis Grove 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 312.242 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 309.107 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 306.357 degrees. |