Tidbits & Trivia

Introduction ...

Below is our collection of tidbits and odds 'n ends for Polaris Gardens.

Outdoor Activities ...

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

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

Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Polaris Gardens

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 Polaris Gardens:
- 40.654113, -112.022995<1>
- 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 Polaris Gardens

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 Salt Lake County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- Open the eBird sighting report for Salt Lake County
- Since Polaris Gardens is near Tooele County and also Utah County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- Open the eBird sighting report for Tooele County
- Open the eBird sighting report for Utah 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 Polaris Gardens

Curious and Interesting Names Near Polaris Gardens ...

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.

Cherrywood Village
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Cherrywood Village is also located in Salt Lake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherrywood Village
Cobblestone
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Cobblestone is also located in Salt Lake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cobblestone
Copper City
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Copper City is also located in Salt Lake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Copper City
Copper Hills Heights
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Copper Hills Heights is also located in Salt Lake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Copper Hills Heights
Creekview
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Creekview is also located in Salt Lake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Creekview
Crown
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Crown is also located in Salt Lake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crown
Dial Heights
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Dial Heights is also located in Salt Lake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dial Heights
Dixie Valley
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Dixie Valley is also located in Salt Lake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dixie Valley
Falconcrest
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Falconcrest is also located in Salt Lake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Falconcrest
Fox Hills
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Fox Hills is also located in Salt Lake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fox Hills
Georgetown ‑ Historic
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Georgetown was located in Salt Lake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Georgetown
Green Tree
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Green Tree is also located in Salt Lake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Tree
Continue List (30 more) ...
- Harmony Lane
  (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
  - Harmony Lane is also located in Salt Lake County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harmony Lane
- Hector Heights
  (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
  - Hector Heights is also located in Salt Lake County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hector Heights
- Hector Village
  (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
  - Hector Village is also located in Salt Lake County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hector Village
- Horizon
  (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
  - Horizon is also located in Salt Lake County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Horizon
- Hunter
  (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
  - Hunter is also located in Salt Lake County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hunter
- Hunter Heights
  (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
  - Hunter Heights is also located in Salt Lake County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hunter Heights
- Hunter Hills
  (Less than 2 miles to the north)
  - Hunter Hills is also located in Salt Lake County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hunter Hills
- Hunter Stake
  (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
  - Hunter Stake is also located in Salt Lake County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hunter Stake
- Indian Village
  (Less than 2 miles to the east)
  - Indian Village is also located in Salt Lake County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Village
- Jensen Circle
  (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
  - Jensen Circle is also located in Salt Lake County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jensen Circle
- Jonesdale
  (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
  - Jonesdale is also located in Salt Lake County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jonesdale
- King Valley
  (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
  - King Valley is also located in Salt Lake County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for King Valley
- Kingsgate
  (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
  - Kingsgate is also located in Salt Lake County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kingsgate
- Little Trieste
  (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
  - Little Trieste is also located in Salt Lake County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Trieste
- Mallard
  (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
  - Mallard is also located in Salt Lake County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mallard
- Martin Village
  (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
  - Martin Village is also located in Salt Lake County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Martin Village
- Meadow Heights
  (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
  - Meadow Heights is also located in Salt Lake County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadow Heights
- Meadow View
  (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
  - Meadow View is also located in Salt Lake County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadow View
- Meadowgate
  (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
  - Meadowgate is also located in Salt Lake County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadowgate
- Park Heights
  (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
  - Park Heights is also located in Salt Lake County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Park Heights
- Skyview
  (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
  - Skyview is also located in Salt Lake County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Skyview
- Springbrook
  (Less than 2 miles to the north)
  - Springbrook is also located in Salt Lake County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springbrook
- Sundown
  (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
  - Sundown is also located in Salt Lake County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sundown
- Sunset Downs
  (Less than 2 miles to the east)
  - Sunset Downs is also located in Salt Lake County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunset Downs
- Sunset Hills
  (Less than 2 miles to the north)
  - Sunset Hills is also located in Salt Lake County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunset Hills
- Swallow
  (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
  - Swallow is also located in Salt Lake County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swallow
- Walnut Hills
  (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
  - Walnut Hills is also located in Salt Lake County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walnut Hills
- Willow Bay
  (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
  - Willow Bay is also located in Salt Lake County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willow Bay
- Willow Run Park
  (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
  - Willow Run Park is also located in Salt Lake County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willow Run Park
- Woodledge
  (Less than 2 miles to the north)
  - Woodledge is also located in Salt Lake County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodledge

How Far From Polaris Gardens 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 included the distance from a community such as Polaris Gardens to various places of note, such as the White House.

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<2> beginning in Polaris Gardens and extending to:

Salt Lake City, which is the Seat of Salt Lake County, lies 9 miles [14.5 km]<2> to the northeast. If you could walk a straight line from Polaris Gardens to Salt Lake City, 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.
Salt Lake City, which is the State Capital of Utah, lies 9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast (NE). The buggy would take a little over three hours and walking would take four to five hours.
The White House (Washington, DC) is 1,848 miles [2,974.1 km] to the east (E). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take most of three days, a buggy would take 73 days and walking would take 105 days.
The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 7,008 miles [11,278.3 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 7,776 miles [12,514.3 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<6>
The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,756 miles [9,263.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>

Footnotes ...

<1>	GPS Coordinates for Polaris Gardens: Decimal: 40.65411, -112.022995 DDMMSS: 40° 39' 14", -112° 1' 22"
<2>	Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Polaris Gardens) 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 Polaris Gardens 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 Polaris Gardens. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 40.6541, Longitude: -112.0230 In this case, the coordinates for Polaris Gardens have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<5>	The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 332.018 degrees.
<6>	The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 331.587 degrees.
<7>	The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 321.852 degrees.