Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Dassel, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Dassel and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Dassel
- 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 Dassel:
- 45.082865, -94.314291
- 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 Dassel
- 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 Meeker County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Meeker County
- Since Dassel is near Wright County and also McLeod County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Wright County
- eBird sighting report for McLeod 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 Dassel ...
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.
- Casey
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west) - Darwin
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Darwin have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Darwin
- Darwin is located in Meeker County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 355 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Darwin <2>
- Forest City
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest City
- Forest City is located in Meeker County
- French Lake
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for French Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for French Lake
- French Lake is located in Wright County
- Greenleaf
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest) - Howard Lake
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Howard Lake
- Howard Lake is located in Wright County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,162 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Howard Lake <2>
- Jennie
(5 miles [8 km] to the south) - Knapp
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast) - Rice Lake
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
How Far From Dassel 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 Dassel to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<3> beginning in Dassel and extending to:
- Litchfield, which is the Seat of Meeker County, lies 10 miles [16.1 km]<3> to the west northwest. If you could walk a straight line from Dassel to Litchfield, with an average speed<4> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take four to five hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take a little over three hours.
- Saint Paul, which is the State Capital of Minnesota, lies 60 miles [96.6 km] to the east (E). 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 981 miles [1,578.8 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving would take most of two days, a buggy would take 39 days and walking would take 56 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,251 miles [10,060 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,007 miles [11,276.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,920 miles [7,918 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Dassel: www.dassel.com/
The official website for Meeker County: www.co.meeker.mn.us/
The official website for State of Minnesota: https://mn.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 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Dassel) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Dassel. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 45.0829, Longitude: -94.3143 In this case, the coordinates for Dassel 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 Dassel 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 319.041 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 317.023 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 311.189 degrees. |