Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Olson, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Olson and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Olson
- 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 Olson:
- 43.625584, -84.429167
- 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 Olson
- 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 Olson is near Gratiot County and also Isabella County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Gratiot County
- eBird sighting report for Isabella 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 Olson ...
We found two communities that share the name Olson.
Within Michigan, the name Olson is unique.
Beyond Michigan, we know of another two communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these two communities, one is located in the United States and the other in Canada.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- British Columbia
- This Olson lies 1,492 miles [2,401.1 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Olson that is located in Midland County.
- Oregon
- British Columbia
Curious and Interesting Names Near Olson ...
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
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast) - Bullock Creek
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bullock Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bullock Creek
- Bullock Creek is located in Midland County
- Dean
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east) - Dice Corners
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dice Corners have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dice Corners
- Dice Corners is located in Midland County
- Floyd
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south) - Francis Grove
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Francis Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Francis Grove
- Francis Grove is located in Midland County
- Gordonville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gordonville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gordonville
- Gordonville is located in Midland County
- Hope
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hope have been provided by the GNIS.<3> 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 <4>
- Lockport
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast) - Oil City
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west) - Poseyville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Poseyville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poseyville
- Poseyville is located in Midland County
- Redstone
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redstone
- Redstone is located in Midland County
- Teeterville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Teeterville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Teeterville
- Teeterville is located in Midland County
How Far From Olson 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 Olson to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Olson and extending to:
- Midland, which is the Seat of Midland County, lies 10 miles [16.1 km]<1> to the east. If you could walk a straight line from Olson to Midland, with an average speed<5> 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 61 miles [98.2 km] to the south (S). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than an hour, a buggy would take about three full days and walking would take most of three days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 503 miles [809.5 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<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,981 miles [9,625.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,719 miles [10,813.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,602 miles [7,406.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Olson. 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> | 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 from Point A (ie- Olson) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Olson. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 43.6256, Longitude: -84.4292 In this case, the coordinates for Olson 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 Bird Creek to see Pete ... Bird 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 Olson 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're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <5> | 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. |
| <6> | 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 Olson to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 312.272 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 309.127 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 306.41 degrees. |