Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Shepherd, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Shepherd and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Shepherd
- 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 Shepherd:
- 43.524258, -84.691073
- 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 Shepherd
- 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 Isabella County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Isabella County
- Since Shepherd is near Midland County and also Gratiot County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Midland County
- eBird sighting report for Gratiot 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 Shepherd ...
We found ten communities that share the name Shepherd.
Within Michigan, the name Shepherd is unique.
Beyond Michigan, we know of another ten communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Florida
- Georgia
- Coffee County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<2> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Georgia community of Shepherd [Coffee County].
- Wayne County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Georgia community of Shepherd [Wayne County].
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Mississippi
- Montana
- Chouteau County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<2> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Montana community of Shepherd [Chouteau County].
- Yellowstone County
- This Shepherd is located in Yellowstone County and lies 1,167 miles [1,878.1 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Shepherd that is located in Isabella County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Yellowstone County community of Shepherd.
- Tennessee
- Texas
Curious and Interesting Names Near Shepherd ...
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.
- Elm Hall
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest) - Floyd
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east) - Jordan
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north) - Mount Pleasant
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Pleasant
- Mount Pleasant is located in Isabella County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 24,274 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mount Pleasant <4>
- Oil City
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast) - Redstone
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redstone
- Redstone is located in Midland County
- Rosebush
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosebush
- Rosebush is located in Isabella County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 365 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rosebush <4>
- Teeterville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)- 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
- Two Rivers
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Two Rivers have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Two Rivers
- Two Rivers is located in Isabella County
- Wise
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
How Far From Shepherd 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 village such as Shepherd to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Shepherd and extending to:
- Mount Pleasant, which is the Seat of Isabella County, lies just to the Northwest.
- Lansing, which is the State Capital of Michigan, lies 55 miles [88.5 km]<1> to the south (S). If you could walk a straight line from Shepherd to Lansing, with an average speed<5> 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 509 miles [819.2 km] to the southeast (SE). 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<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,996 miles [9,649.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,734 miles [10,837.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,617 miles [7,430.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Shepherd. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Isabella County: www.isabellacounty.org/
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 obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Shepherd) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Shepherd. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 43.5243, Longitude: -84.6911 |
| <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 Shepherd 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 Shepherd 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 312.45 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 309.313 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 306.577 degrees. |