Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Vassar, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Vassar and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Vassar
- 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 Vassar:
- 43.372083, -83.583473
- 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 Vassar
- 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 Tuscola County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Tuscola County
- Since Vassar is near Saginaw County and also Bay County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Saginaw County
- eBird sighting report for Bay 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 Vassar ...
We found five communities that share the name Vassar.
Within Michigan, the name Vassar is unique.
Beyond Michigan, we know of another five communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these five communities, four are located in the United States and one is in Canada.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Idaho
- Kansas
- Manitoba
- This Vassar lies 704 miles [1,133 km]<1> to the northwest of the Vassar that is located in Tuscola County.
- Mississippi
- Washington
Curious and Interesting Names Near Vassar ...
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.
- Birch Run
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Birch Run
- Birch Run is located in Saginaw County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,469 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Birch Run <4>
- Denmark Junction
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Denmark Junction have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Denmark Junction
- Denmark Junction is located in Tuscola County
- Fairgrove
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fairgrove have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairgrove
- Fairgrove is located in Tuscola County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 528 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fairgrove <4>
- Indiantown
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Indiantown have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indiantown
- Indiantown is located in Saginaw County
- Mayville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mayville
- Mayville is located in Tuscola County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 884 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mayville <4>
- Otter Lake
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Otter Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Otter Lake
- Otter Lake is located in Lapeer County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 377 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Otter Lake <4>
- Pine Run
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest) - Richville
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richville
- Richville is located in Tuscola County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Richville <4>
How Far From Vassar 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 Vassar to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Vassar and extending to:
- Caro, which is the Seat of Tuscola County, lies 12 miles [19.3 km]<1> to the northeast. If you could walk a straight line from Vassar to Caro, with an average speed<6> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take five to six hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take nearly four hours.
- Lansing, which is the State Capital of Michigan, lies 65 miles [104.6 km] to the southwest (SW). 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 459 miles [738.7 km] to the southeast (SE). Driving would take most of a day, a buggy would take 18 days and walking would take 26 days.
- The shortest distance<7> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,961 miles [9,593.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,697 miles [10,777.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,578 miles [7,367.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<10>
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Vassar: www.cityofvassar.org/
The official website for Tuscola County: www.tuscolacounty.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' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Vassar) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Vassar. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 43.3721, Longitude: -83.5835 |
| <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 Vassar, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <3> | 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 Vassar 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. |
| <4> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <5> | 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. |
| <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 Vassar 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 311.727 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 308.472 degrees. |
| <10> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 306.075 degrees. |