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Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Alplaus, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Alplaus 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 Alplaus:
- 42.855307, -73.899849
- 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 Alplaus
- 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 Schenectady County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- Open the eBird sighting report for Schenectady County
- Since Alplaus is near Saratoga County and also Albany County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- Open the eBird sighting report for Saratoga County
- Open the eBird sighting report for Albany 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 Alplaus
Curious and Interesting Names Near Alplaus ...
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.
- Aqueduct
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Burnt Hills
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Coldbrook
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Coldbrook is located in Schenectady County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coldbrook
- Glenville Center
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Glenville Center is located in Schenectady County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenville Center
- Groom Corners
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- High Mills
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- High Mills is located in Schenectady County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for High Mills
- Hungry Hill
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Hungry Hill is located in Schenectady County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hungry Hill
- Jonesville
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Mount Pleasant
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Mount Pleasant is located in Schenectady County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Pleasant
- Orchard Park
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Orchard Park is located in Saratoga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orchard Park
- Tucker Heights
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Tucker Heights is located in Saratoga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tucker Heights
How Far From Alplaus to ...
We spend a lot of time looking through Gazetteers & Almanacs that were published in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Many of the Gazetteers include the distance from a community such as Alplaus to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<2> beginning in Alplaus and extending to:
- Schenectady, which is the Seat of Schenectady County, lies just to the Southwest.
- Albany, which is the State Capital of New York, lies 15 miles [24.1 km]<2> to the south southeast (SSE). If you could walk a straight line from Alplaus to Albany, with an average speed<3> 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 four to five hours.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 318 miles [511.8 km] to the south southwest (SSW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take five to six hours, a buggy would take 13 days and walking would take 18 days.
- The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,603 miles [9,017.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,318 miles [10,167.8 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<6>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,193 miles [6,748 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<7>'
Footnotes ...
| <1> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <2> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Alplaus) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <3> | 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. |
| <4> | 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 Alplaus 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 Alplaus. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.8553, Longitude: -73.8998 |
| <5> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 305.629 degrees. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 301.513 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 301.624 degrees. |
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