Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Helmer, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Helmer and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Helmer
- 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 Helmer:
- 46.266377, -85.715675
- 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 Helmer
- 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 Luce County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Luce County
- Since Helmer is near Mackinac County and also Schoolcraft County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Mackinac County
- eBird sighting report for Schoolcraft 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 Helmer ...
We found four communities that share the name Helmer.
Within Michigan, the name Helmer is unique.
Beyond Michigan, we know of another four communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Georgia
- Idaho
- Indiana
- Washington
Curious and Interesting Names Near Helmer ...
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.
- Carpenter Landing
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carpenter Landing
- Carpenter Landing is located in Luce County
- Dollarville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dollarville
- Dollarville is located in Luce County
- Eightmile Corner
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Eightmile Corner have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eightmile Corner
- Eightmile Corner is located in Luce County
- Fourmile Corner
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fourmile Corner have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fourmile Corner
- Fourmile Corner is located in Luce County
- Huntspur
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest) - Inland
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest) - Marks
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast) - Natalie
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast) - Roberts Corner
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roberts Corner
- Roberts Corner is located in Luce County
How Far From Helmer 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 Helmer to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Helmer and extending to:
- Newberry, which is the Seat of Luce County, lies 11 miles [17.7 km]<1> to the east northeast. If you could walk a straight line from Helmer to Newberry, with an average speed<4> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take five to six hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take nearly four hours.
- Lansing, which is the State Capital of Michigan, lies 250 miles [402.3 km] to the south southeast (SSE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take nearly four hours, a buggy would take 10 days and walking would take 15 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 672 miles [1,081.5 km] to the southeast (SE). Driving would take just about two full days, a buggy would take 27 days and walking would take 39 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,904 miles [9,501.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,651 miles [10,703.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,545 miles [7,314.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Helmer. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for State of Michigan: https://www.michigan.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Helmer) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Helmer. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 46.2664, Longitude: -85.7157 In this case, the coordinates for Helmer 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 Helmer 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> | 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. |
| <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 Helmer 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 313.005 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 310.349 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 306.145 degrees. |