Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Anacortes, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Anacortes and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Anacortes
- 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 Anacortes:
- 48.512622, -122.612618
- 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 Anacortes
- 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 Skagit County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Skagit County
- Since Anacortes is near Island County and also San Juan County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Island County
- eBird sighting report for San Juan 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 Anacortes ...
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.
- Allen
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east) - Bow
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bow
- Bow is located in Skagit County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bow <2>
- Dewey
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south) - Edison
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast) - Edison Station
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Edison Station have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edison Station
- Edison Station is located in Skagit County
- Equality ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast) - Howards Corner
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Howards Corner have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Howards Corner
- Howards Corner is located in Skagit County
- Indian Village
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Indian Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Village
- Indian Village is located in Skagit County
- Leary
(5 miles [8 km] to the east) - Sharpes Corner
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sharpes Corner have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sharpes Corner
- Sharpes Corner is located in Skagit County
- Shelter Bay
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shelter Bay have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shelter Bay
- Shelter Bay is located in Skagit County
- Sunset
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east) - Urban
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Urban
- Urban is located in Skagit County
How Far From Anacortes 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 include the distance from a city such as Anacortes to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<3> beginning in Anacortes and extending to:
- Mount Vernon, which is the Seat of Skagit County, lies 14 miles [22.5 km]<3> to the east southeast. If you could walk a straight line from Anacortes to Mount Vernon, with an average speed<4> 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 four to five hours.
- Olympia, which is the State Capital of Washington, lies 102 miles [164.2 km] to the south (S). 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 2,331 miles [3,751.4 km] to the east (E). Driving would take 5 days, a buggy would take 91 days and walking would take 133 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,718 miles [10,811.6 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 7,479 miles [12,036.3 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,613 miles [9,033.2 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Anacortes: www.cityofanacortes.org/
The official website for Skagit County: www.skagitcounty.net/
The official website for State of Washington: https://access.wa.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> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <3> | 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 from Point A (ie- Anacortes) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Anacortes. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 48.5126, Longitude: -122.6126 |
| <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 Anacortes to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 341.146 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 342.79 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 327.873 degrees. |