Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Blitzen, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Blitzen and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Blitzen
- 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 Blitzen:
- 42.615022, -119.069363
- 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 Blitzen
- 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 Harney County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Harney 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 Blitzen ...
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.
In the vicinity of Blitzen, Frenchglen is located 16 miles [25.7 km]<1> to the Northeast
How Far From Blitzen 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 Blitzen to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers and using the location of where the historic<2> community of Blitzen once stood, the straight-line distance beginning in Blitzen and extending to:
- Burns, which is the Seat of Harney County, lies 67 miles [107.8 km]<1> to the north. If you could walk a straight line from Blitzen to Burns, with an average speed<3> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take three full days to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take about three full days.
- Salem, which is the State Capital of Oregon, lies 254 miles [408.8 km] to the northwest (NW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take four to five hours, a buggy would take 10 days and walking would take 15 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 2,190 miles [3,524.5 km] to the east (E). Driving would take 5 days, a buggy would take 86 days and walking would take 125 days.
- The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 7,040 miles [11,329.8 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<5>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,807 miles [12,564.1 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<6>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,861 miles [9,432.4 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<7>
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Harney County: www.co.harney.or.us/
The official website for State of Oregon: https://www.oregon.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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 drawn from Point A (ie- Blitzen) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Blitzen. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.6150, Longitude: -119.0694 |
| <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 Blitzen, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <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 Blitzen to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <5> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 337.867 degrees. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 338.634 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 325.981 degrees. |