RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Michigan >> Muskegon County >> Slocum >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).

When in Slocum, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Slocum and the surrounding area.

  • 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 Slocum:
    • 43.223001, -85.906477
    • 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.
    • Open the Heavens-Above website centered on Slocum
  • 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 Muskegon County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Muskegon County
    • Since Slocum is near Ottawa County and also Kent County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Ottawa County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Kent 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:
    • Open the Waymark.com report for Slocum

Communities Also Named Slocum ...

We found eight communities that are also named Slocum.

Within Michigan, the name Slocum is unique.

Beyond Michigan, we know of eight communities that are located in the United States.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Idaho
      • Clearwater County
      • This Slocum is located in Clearwater County and lies 1,481 miles [2,383.4 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Slocum that is located in Muskegon County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Clearwater County community of Slocum.
    • Louisiana
      • Concordia Parish
      • This Slocum is located in Concordia Parish and lies 882 miles [1,419.4 km]<1> to the south southwest of the Slocum that is located in Muskegon County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Concordia Parish community of Slocum.
    • Nebraska
      • Holt County
      • This community is historic<2> and although located in Holt County, we don't know where within the county.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Holt County community of Slocum.
    • North Carolina
      • Hyde County
      • This Slocum is located in Hyde County and lies 748 miles [1,203.8 km]<1> to the southeast of the Slocum that is located in Muskegon County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Hyde County community of Slocum.
    • Ohio
      • Scioto County
      • This Slocum is located in Scioto County and lies 346 miles [556.8 km]<1> to the south southeast of the Slocum that is located in Muskegon County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Scioto County community of Slocum.
    • Pennsylvania
      • Luzerne County
      • This Slocum is located in Luzerne County and lies 524 miles [843.3 km]<1> to the east southeast of the Slocum that is located in Muskegon County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Luzerne County community of Slocum.
    • Rhode Island
      • Washington County
      • This Slocum is located in Washington County and lies 742 miles [1,194.1 km]<1> to the east of the Slocum that is located in Muskegon County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Washington County community of Slocum.
    • Texas
      • Anderson County
      • This Slocum is located in Anderson County and lies 955 miles [1,536.9 km]<1> to the southwest of the Slocum that is located in Muskegon County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Anderson County community of Slocum.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Slocum ...

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.

  • Canada Corners
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
  • Fruit Ridge Center
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Fruit Ridge Center is located in Kent County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fruit Ridge Center
  • Grant
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Harrisburg
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Harrisburg is located in Ottawa County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harrisburg
  • Kellys Corners
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Kellys Corners is located in Muskegon County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kellys Corners
  • Kent City
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • Lisbon
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Moorland
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Moorland is located in Muskegon County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moorland
  • Sun
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Wolf Lake
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Wolf Lake is located in Muskegon County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wolf Lake

How Far From Slocum 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 Slocum to various places of note, such as the White House.

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Slocum and extending to:

  • Muskegon, which is the Seat of Muskegon County, lies 17 miles [27.4 km]<1> to the west. If you could walk a straight line from Slocum to Muskegon, with an average speed<4> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take most of a day to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take five to six hours.
  • Lansing, which is the State Capital of Michigan, lies 76 miles [122.3 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than two hours, a buggy would take most of three days and walking would take 5 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 549 miles [883.5 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving would take just over a day, a buggy would take 22 days and walking would take 32 days.
  • The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,055 miles [9,744.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,794 miles [10,933.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,678 miles [7,528.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>'

Footnotes ...

<1>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Slocum) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<2>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 Slocum, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<3>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<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 Slocum to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Slocum. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 43.2230, Longitude: -85.9065       In this case, the coordinates for Slocum have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 313.266 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 310.195 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 307.29 degrees.