RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Washington >> Whatcom County >> Saxon >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

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

  • 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 Saxon:
    • 48.685828, -122.196450
    • 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 Saxon
  • 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 Saxon ...

We found thirteen communities that share the name Saxon.

Within Washington, the name Saxon is unique.

Beyond Washington, we know of another thirteen communities that are located throughout in the United States.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • California
      • Yolo County
      • This Saxon is located in Yolo County and lies 706 miles [1,136.2 km]<1> to the south of the Saxon that is located in Whatcom County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Yolo County community of Saxon.
    • Georgia
      • Oglethorpe County
      • This Saxon is located in Oglethorpe County and lies 2,243 miles [3,609.8 km]<1> to the east southeast of the Saxon that is located in Whatcom County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Oglethorpe County community of Saxon.
    • Illinois
      • Henry County
      • This community is historic<2> and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Illinois community of Saxon [Henry County].
      • Livingston County
      • This community is historic and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Illinois community of Saxon [Livingston County].
    • Iowa
      • Wayne County
      • This Saxon is located in Wayne County and lies 1,501 miles [2,415.6 km]<1> to the east of the Saxon that is located in Whatcom County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Wayne County community of Saxon.
    • Michigan
      • Kent County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<3> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Michigan community of Saxon [Kent County].
    • Mississippi
      • Marion County
      • This Saxon is located in Marion County and lies 2,074 miles [3,337.8 km]<1> to the east southeast of the Saxon that is located in Whatcom County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Marion County community of Saxon.
    • North Carolina
      • Stokes County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<3> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the North Carolina community of Saxon [Stokes County].
    • Ohio
      • Meigs County
      • This Saxon is located in Meigs County and lies 2,092 miles [3,366.7 km]<1> to the east of the Saxon that is located in Whatcom County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Meigs County community of Saxon.
    • South Carolina
      • Spartanburg County
      • This Saxon is located in Spartanburg County and lies 2,243 miles [3,609.8 km]<1> to the east of the Saxon that is located in Whatcom County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Spartanburg County community of Saxon.
    • West Virginia
      • Raleigh County
      • This Saxon is located in Raleigh County and lies 2,154 miles [3,466.5 km]<1> to the east of the Saxon that is located in Whatcom County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Raleigh County community of Saxon.
    • Wisconsin
      • Ashland County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<3> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Wisconsin community of Saxon [Ashland County].
      • Iron County
      • This Saxon is located in Iron County and lies 1,476 miles [2,375.4 km]<1> to the east of the Saxon that is located in Whatcom County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Iron County community of Saxon.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Saxon ...

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.

  • Acme
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
  • Cedarville
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cedarville have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedarville
    • Cedarville is located in Whatcom County
  • Clipper
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Cokedale ‑ Historic
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cokedale have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cokedale
    • Cokedale is located in Skagit County
  • Equality ‑ Historic
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Equality have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Equality
    • Equality is located in Skagit County
  • Forest Ridge
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Forest Ridge have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest Ridge
    • Forest Ridge is located in Whatcom County
  • Geneva
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Geneva. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<6>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Geneva
    • Geneva is located in Whatcom County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Geneva
    • From Saxon to Geneva
  • Mirror Lake
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mirror Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mirror Lake
    • Mirror Lake is located in Whatcom County
  • Prairie
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Prairie have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairie
    • Prairie is located in Skagit County
  • Silver Beach
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Silver Beach. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<6>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver Beach
    • Silver Beach is located in Whatcom County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Silver Beach
    • From Saxon to Silver Beach
  • Standard Crossing
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Standard Crossing have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Standard Crossing
    • Standard Crossing is located in Whatcom County
  • Sudden Valley
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sudden Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sudden Valley
    • Sudden Valley is located in Whatcom County
  • Sunnyside
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sunnyside have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunnyside
    • Sunnyside is located in Whatcom County
  • Welcome
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Welcome. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<6>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Welcome
    • Welcome is located in Whatcom County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Welcome
    • From Saxon to Welcome

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

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

  • Bellingham, which is the Seat of Whatcom County, lies 13 miles [20.9 km]<1> to the west northwest. If you could walk a straight line from Saxon to Bellingham, with an average speed<7> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take 6 hours 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 118 miles [189.9 km] to the south southwest (SSW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take about two hours, a buggy would take 5 days and walking would take 7 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 2,312 miles [3,720.8 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<8> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,701 miles [10,784.2 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<9>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,462 miles [12,008.9 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<10>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,593 miles [9,001.1 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<11>

Footnotes ...

<1>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- Saxon) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Saxon. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 48.6858, Longitude: -122.1964       In this case, the coordinates for Saxon have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<2>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 Saxon, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<3>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 Saxon 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.
<4>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<5>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.
<6>An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace.
<7>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.
<8>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 Saxon to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East.
<9>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 340.808 degrees.
<10>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 342.408 degrees.
<11>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 327.583 degrees.