RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Oregon >> Clackamas County >> Brightwood >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).

When in Brightwood, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Brightwood and the surrounding area.

  • Weather ...
  • 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 Brightwood:
    • 45.376501, -122.016554
    • 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 Brightwood
  • 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 Clackamas County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Clackamas County
    • Since Brightwood is near Hood River County and also Multnomah County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Hood River County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Multnomah 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 Brightwood

Communities Also Named Brightwood ...

We found nine communities that are also named Brightwood.

Within Oregon, the name Brightwood is unique.

Beyond Oregon, we know of nine communities that are located in the United States.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Indiana
      • Marion County
      • This community is historic<1> and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Indiana community of Brightwood [Marion County].
    • Maryland
      • Anne Arundel County
      • This Brightwood is located in Anne Arundel County and lies 2,329 miles [3,748.2 km]<2> to the east of the Brightwood that is located in Clackamas County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Anne Arundel County community of Brightwood.
      • Baltimore County
      • This Brightwood is located in Baltimore County and lies 2,317 miles [3,728.9 km] to the east of the Brightwood that is located in Clackamas County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Baltimore County community of Brightwood.
      • Queen Anne's County
      • This Brightwood is located in Queen Anne's County and lies 2,349 miles [3,780.3 km] to the east of the Brightwood that is located in Clackamas County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Queen Anne's County community of Brightwood.
    • Massachusetts
      • Hampden County
      • This Brightwood is located in Hampden County and lies 2,435 miles [3,918.8 km]<2> to the east northeast of the Brightwood that is located in Clackamas County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Hampden County community of Brightwood.
    • North Carolina
      • Guilford County
      • This Brightwood is located in Guilford County and lies 2,271 miles [3,654.8 km]<2> to the east of the Brightwood that is located in Clackamas County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Guilford County community of Brightwood.
    • Ohio
      • Tuscarawas County
      • This Brightwood is located in Tuscarawas County and lies 2,059 miles [3,313.6 km]<2> to the east of the Brightwood that is located in Clackamas County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Tuscarawas County community of Brightwood.
    • Pennsylvania
      • Allegheny County
      • This Brightwood is located in Allegheny County and lies 2,128 miles [3,424.7 km]<2> to the east of the Brightwood that is located in Clackamas County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Allegheny County community of Brightwood.
    • Virginia
      • Madison County
      • This Brightwood is located in Madison County and lies 2,273 miles [3,658 km]<2> to the east of the Brightwood that is located in Clackamas County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Madison County community of Brightwood.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Brightwood ...

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.

How Far From Brightwood 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 Brightwood to various places of note, such as the White House.

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Brightwood and extending to:

  • Oregon City, which is the Seat of Clackamas County, lies 28 miles [45.1 km]<2> to the west. If you could walk a straight line from Brightwood to Oregon City, 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 just over a day.
  • Salem, which is the State Capital of Oregon, lies 57 miles [91.7 km] to the west southwest (WSW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than an hour, a buggy would take over two days and walking would take most of three days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 2,315 miles [3,725.6 km] to the east (E). Driving would take 5 days, a buggy would take 91 days and walking would take 132 days.
  • The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,913 miles [11,125.4 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<6>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,677 miles [12,354.9 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<7>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,782 miles [9,305.2 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<8>'

Footnotes ...

<1>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 Brightwood, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<2>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- Brightwood) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<3>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<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 Brightwood 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 Brightwood. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 45.3765, Longitude: -122.0166    
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 340.493 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 341.873 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 327.702 degrees.