Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Friend, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Friend and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Friend
- 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 Friend:
- 45.347052, -121.267187
- 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 Friend
- 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 Friend is near Jackson County and also Sherman County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Jackson 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
Communities Also Named Friend ...
We found six communities that share the name Friend.
Within Oregon, the name Friend is unique.
Beyond Oregon, we know of another six communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Colorado
- Kansas
- Finney County
- This Friend is located in Finney County and lies 1,152 miles [1,854 km]<2> to the east southeast of the Friend that is located in Wasco County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Finney County community of Friend.
- Scott County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<1> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Kansas community of Friend [Scott County].
- Nebraska
- New York
- Virginia
Curious and Interesting Names Near Friend ...
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
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cherry Heights have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherry Heights
- Cherry Heights is located in Wasco County
- Crates
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north) - Dee ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest) - Dike
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east) - English ‑ Historic
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast) - Government Camp
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Government Camp
- Government Camp is located in Clackamas County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Government Camp <5>
- Grass Valley
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Grass Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grass Valley
- Grass Valley is located in Sherman County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 167 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Grass Valley <5>
- Lockit
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast) - Lyle
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lyle
- Lyle is located in Klickitat County (WA)
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lyle <5>
- Pine Hollow
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pine Hollow have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Hollow
- Pine Hollow is located in Wasco County
- Rice ‑ Historic
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rice
- Rice is located in Wasco County
- Straight Point
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Straight Point have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Straight Point
- Straight Point is located in Klickitat County (WA)
How Far From Friend 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 Friend 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 community of Friend once stood, the straight-line distance beginning in Friend and extending to:
- The Dalles, which is the Seat of Wasco County, lies 17 miles [27.4 km]<2> to the north northeast. If you could walk a straight line from Friend to The Dalles, with an average speed<6> 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 five to six hours.
- Salem, which is the State Capital of Oregon, lies 90 miles [144.8 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 most of three days and walking would take 6 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 2,278 miles [3,666.1 km] to the east (E). Driving would take 5 days, a buggy would take 89 days and walking would take 130 days.
- The shortest distance<7> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,903 miles [11,109.3 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<8>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,667 miles [12,338.8 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<9>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,764 miles [9,276.3 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<10>
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Wasco County: www.co.wasco.or.us/
The official website for State of Oregon: https://www.oregon.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | If we encounter the name of what might be a community, our methodology is to add that name to our Gazetteer as a placeholder. As we find more information about that community, it will be added to our Gazetteer. Just as a reminder: Our definition of a community is rather broad and includes those places (or areas) where several families lived and had a name which identified that place. For example, you might hear somebody say that they are going over to Rock Creek to see Pete ... Rock Creek is just a gas station and a couple of homes at the crossroads. While it might not be on the map, everybody in the area knows it by that name. Places of interest include buildings at a crossroad, several families clustered in a hollow or maybe the location of a way station. It also includes places like mines, lumber camps, ferry crossings, etc. The community might still exist, is now gone or only existed for just a short period of time. Also keep in mind that Friend could have been on the original document by mistake, misspelled, the original/alternate name of a community that we've listed elsewhere or was placed in the wrong county. Sometimes a post office or train station would have a different name than the community where it's located, so two names might be referring to the same community - we're working to straighten it all out. |
| <2> | 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- Friend) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Friend. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 45.3471, Longitude: -121.2672 |
| <3> | 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 Friend, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | 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. |
| <5> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <6> | 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. |
| <7> | 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 Friend to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 339.87 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 341.143 degrees. |
| <10> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 327.22 degrees. |