Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Rodney, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Rodney and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Rodney
- 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 Rodney:
- 43.673636, -85.328373
- 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 Rodney
- 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 Mecosta County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Mecosta County
- Since Rodney is near Osceola County and also Isabella County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Osceola 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 Rodney ...
We found thirteen communities that share the name Rodney.
Within Michigan, the name Rodney is unique.
Beyond Michigan, we know of another thirteen communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these thirteen communities, eleven are located in the United States and two are in Canada.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Alabama
- Arkansas
- Delaware
- Iowa
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Nova Scotia
- This Rodney lies 1,051 miles [1,691.4 km]<2> to the east northeast of the Rodney that is located in Mecosta County.
- Ohio
- Ontario
- This Rodney lies 198 miles [318.7 km]<2> to the east southeast of the Rodney that is located in Mecosta County.
- Pennsylvania
- Texas
- Virginia
- Wisconsin
Curious and Interesting Names Near Rodney ...
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.
- Big Rapids
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Big Rapids have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Rapids
- Big Rapids is located in Mecosta County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 10,408 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Big Rapids <5>
- Canadian Lakes
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canadian Lakes
- Canadian Lakes is located in Mecosta County
- Drew
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east) - Halls Corner
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Halls Corner
- Halls Corner is located in Mecosta County
- Hersey
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hersey have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hersey
- Hersey is located in Osceola County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 347 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hersey <5>
- Lakeview
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakeview
- Lakeview is located in Montcalm County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 994 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lakeview <5>
- Paris
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paris
- Paris is located in Mecosta County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Paris <5>
- Reed City
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reed City
- Reed City is located in Osceola County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,374 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Reed City <5>
- Rustford
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
How Far From Rodney to ...
We spend a lot of time looking through Gazetteers, Almanacs & Directories that were published in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Many of the Gazetteers include the distance from a community such as Rodney to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Rodney and extending to:
- Big Rapids, which is the Seat of Mecosta County, lies just to the West Northwest.
- Lansing, which is the State Capital of Michigan, lies 75 miles [120.7 km]<2> to the south southeast (SSE). If you could drive a straight line from Rodney to Lansing, with an average speed<6>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take less than two hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 5 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take most of three days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 541 miles [870.7 km] to the southeast (SE). Driving would take just over a day, a buggy would take 22 days and walking would take 31 days.
- The shortest distance<7> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,012 miles [9,675.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,752 miles [10,866.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,636 miles [7,460.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<10>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Rodney. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Mecosta County: www.co.mecosta.mi.us/
The official website for State of Michigan: https://www.michigan.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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 Rodney 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. |
| <2> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Rodney) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Rodney. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 43.6736, Longitude: -85.3284 In this case, the coordinates for Rodney have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <3> | We use the term 'Historic' broadly and it generally means that the community no longer exists. However, it can also mean that the community might still exist, but was significantly larger or had a more 'official' existence in the past than it does now. Unfortunately our sources of data have proven to be unreliable. If you can provide us with more specific information about Rodney, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | 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. |
| <5> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <6> | 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. |
| <7> | 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 Rodney to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 312.867 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 309.808 degrees. |
| <10> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 306.849 degrees. |