Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Parchment, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Parchment and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Parchment
- 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 Parchment:
- 42.326984, -85.565563
- 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 Parchment
- 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 Kalamazoo County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Kalamazoo County
- Since Parchment is near Barry County and also Allegan County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Barry County
- eBird sighting report for Allegan 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 Parchment ...
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.
- Comstock
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast) - Cooks Mill
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cooks Mill have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cooks Mill
- Cooks Mill is located in Kalamazoo County
- Cooper
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest) - Galesburg
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Galesburg
- Galesburg is located in Kalamazoo County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,090 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Galesburg <2>
- Gull Lake
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east) - Howlandsburg
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Howlandsburg have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Howlandsburg
- Howlandsburg is located in Kalamazoo County
- Lawndale
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast) - Pavillion Center
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pavillion Center
- Pavillion Center is located in Kalamazoo County
- Portage
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Portage
- Portage is located in Kalamazoo County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 49,787 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Portage <2>
- Texas Corners
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Texas Corners have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Texas Corners
- Texas Corners is located in Kalamazoo County
- Woodlawn Beach
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Woodlawn Beach have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodlawn Beach
- Woodlawn Beach is located in Barry County
How Far From Parchment 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 Parchment to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<3> beginning in Parchment and extending to:
- Kalamazoo, which is the Seat of Kalamazoo County, lies just to the South Southwest.
- Lansing, which is the State Capital of Michigan, lies 58 miles [93.3 km]<3> to the east northeast (ENE). If you could walk a straight line from Parchment to Lansing, with an average speed<4> 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 over two days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 505 miles [812.7 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, 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 6,084 miles [9,791.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,820 miles [10,975.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,702 miles [7,567.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Parchment. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Kalamazoo County: www.kalcounty.com/
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' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Parchment) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Parchment. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.3270, Longitude: -85.5656 In this case, the coordinates for Parchment 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 Parchment 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 313.065 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 309.835 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 307.409 degrees. |