Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Dufur, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Dufur and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Dufur
- 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 Dufur:
- 45.454219, -121.127766
- 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 Dufur
- 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 Wasco County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Wasco County
- Since Dufur is near Klickitat County and also Sherman County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Klickitat County
- eBird sighting report for Sherman 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 Dufur ...
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.
- Cherry Heights
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cherry Heights have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherry Heights
- Cherry Heights is located in Wasco County
- Crates
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north) - Dike
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east) - English ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast) - Friend ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Friend
- Friend is located in Wasco County
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Friend
- From Dufur to Friend
- Lockit
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east) - Moody
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast) - Pine Hollow
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pine Hollow have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Hollow
- Pine Hollow is located in Wasco County
- Rice ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rice
- Rice is located in Wasco County
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Rice
- From Dufur to Rice
How Far From Dufur 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 city such as Dufur to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<2> beginning in Dufur and extending to:
- The Dalles, which is the Seat of Wasco County, lies 10 miles [16.1 km]<2> to the north northwest. If you could walk a straight line from Dufur to The Dalles, with an average speed<3> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take four to five hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take a little over three hours.
- Salem, which is the State Capital of Oregon, lies 99 miles [159.3 km] to the west southwest (WSW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than two hours, a buggy would take three full days and walking would take 6 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 2,271 miles [3,654.8 km] to the east (E). Driving would take 5 days, a buggy would take 89 days and walking would take 129 days.
- The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,894 miles [11,094.8 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 7,658 miles [12,324.4 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<6>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,754 miles [9,260.2 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<7>
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Dufur: www.cityofdufur.org/
The official website for Wasco County: www.co.wasco.or.us/
The official website for State of Oregon: https://www.oregon.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> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Dufur) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Dufur. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 45.4542, Longitude: -121.1278 |
| <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 Dufur 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 339.761 degrees. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 341.022 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 327.124 degrees. |