Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Ponsford, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Ponsford and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Ponsford
- 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 Ponsford:
- 46.969960, -95.383919
- 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 Ponsford
- 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 Becker County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Becker County
- Since Ponsford is near Hubbard County and also Clearwater County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Hubbard County
- eBird sighting report for Clearwater 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 Ponsford ...
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.
- Butler
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south) - Deer Lane
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east) - Elbow Lake
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Elbow Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elbow Lake
- Elbow Lake is located in Becker County
- Emmaville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east) - Evergreen
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evergreen
- Evergreen is located in Becker County
- Goldenrod
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast) - Hillview
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south) - Park Rapids
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Park Rapids
- Park Rapids is located in Hubbard County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,335 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Park Rapids <2>
- Pine Point
(Less than 2 miles to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pine Point have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Point
- Pine Point is located in Becker County
- Richwood
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west) - Two Inlets
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Two Inlets
- Two Inlets is located in Becker County
- Wolf Lake
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
How Far From Ponsford 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 community such as Ponsford to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<3> beginning in Ponsford and extending to:
- Detroit Lakes, which is the Seat of Becker County, lies 24 miles [38.6 km]<3> to the west southwest. If you could walk a straight line from Ponsford to Detroit Lakes, with an average speed<4> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take just about two full days to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take most of a day.
- Saint Paul, which is the State Capital of Minnesota, lies 177 miles [284.9 km] to the southeast (SE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take a little over three hours, a buggy would take 7 days and walking would take 10 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 1,078 miles [1,734.9 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving would take over two days, a buggy would take 43 days and walking would take 62 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,185 miles [9,953.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,945 miles [11,176.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,872 miles [7,840.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Ponsford. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Becker County: www.co.becker.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 'straight-line' (or 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- Ponsford) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Ponsford. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 46.9700, Longitude: -95.3839 In this case, the coordinates for Ponsford 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 Ponsford 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 319.813 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 318.148 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 311.298 degrees. |