Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Van Syckel, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Van Syckel and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Van Syckel
- 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 Van Syckel:
- 40.649823, -74.970448
- 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 Van Syckel
- 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 Hunterdon County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Hunterdon County
- Since Van Syckel is near Warren County and also Bucks County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Warren County
- eBird sighting report for Bucks 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 Van Syckel ...
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.
- Bells Crossing
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bells Crossing have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bells Crossing
- Bells Crossing is located in Hunterdon County
- Clarksville
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Clarksville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clarksville
- Clarksville is located in Hunterdon County
- Franklin
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast) - Hensfoot
(Less than 2 miles to the south) - Jutland
(Less than 2 miles to the south) - Kingtown
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south) - Littletown
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Littletown have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Littletown
- Littletown is located in Hunterdon County
- Mariannes Corner
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mariannes Corner have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mariannes Corner
- Mariannes Corner is located in Hunterdon County
- Pierce Heights
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pierce Heights have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pierce Heights
- Pierce Heights is located in Hunterdon County
- Red Mill
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast) - Spruce Run
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Spruce Run have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spruce Run
- Spruce Run is located in Hunterdon County
- Union
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast) - Valley
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
How Far From Van Syckel 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 Van Syckel to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<3> beginning in Van Syckel and extending to:
- Flemington, which is the Seat of Hunterdon County, lies 11 miles [17.7 km]<3> to the south southeast. If you could walk a straight line from Van Syckel to Flemington, with an average speed<4> 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.
- Trenton, which is the State Capital of New Jersey, lies 31 miles [49.9 km] to the south southeast (SSE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than an hour, a buggy would take just over a day and walking would take most of two days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 163 miles [262.3 km] to the southwest (SW). Driving would take less than three hours, a buggy would take 7 days and walking would take 10 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,737 miles [9,232.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,445 miles [10,372.2 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,321 miles [6,954 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Van Syckel. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Hunterdon County: www.co.hunterdon.nj.us/
The official website for State of New Jersey: https://www.nj.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> | An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace. |
| <3> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Van Syckel) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Van Syckel. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 40.6498, Longitude: -74.9704 In this case, the coordinates for Van Syckel 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 Van Syckel 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 306.523 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 302.164 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 303.112 degrees. |