RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Washington >> Jefferson County >> Shine-Gri-La >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Shine-Gri-La, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Shine-Gri-La and the surrounding area.

  • Weather ...
  • 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 Shine-Gri-La:
    • 47.869537, -122.689046
    • 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 Shine-Gri-La
  • 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 Shine-Gri-La ...

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.

  • Beaver Valley
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beaver Valley
    • Beaver Valley is located in Jefferson County
  • Bees Mill
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bees Mill have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bees Mill
    • Bees Mill is located in Jefferson County
  • Four Corners
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Four Corners have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Four Corners
    • Four Corners is located in Kitsap County
  • Lincoln
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lincoln have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lincoln
    • Lincoln is located in Kitsap County
  • Little Boston
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Little Boston have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Boston
    • Little Boston is located in Kitsap County
  • Mats Mats
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mats Mats have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mats Mats
    • Mats Mats is located in Jefferson County
  • Port Gamble
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Rose Point
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rose Point have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rose Point
    • Rose Point is located in Kitsap County
  • Twin Spits
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Twin Spits have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twin Spits
    • Twin Spits is located in Kitsap County

How Far From Shine-Gri-La to ...

We spend a lot of time looking through Gazetteers that were published in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Many of the Gazetteers include the distance from a community such as Shine-Gri-La to various places of note, such as the White House.

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<3> beginning in Shine-Gri-La and extending to:

  • Port Townsend, which is the Seat of Jefferson County, lies 17 miles [27.4 km]<3> to the north. If you could walk a straight line from Shine-Gri-La to Port Townsend, 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 five to six hours.
  • Olympia, which is the State Capital of Washington, lies 58 miles [93.3 km] to the south (S). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than an hour, a buggy would take over two days and walking would take most of three days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 2,336 miles [3,759.4 km] to the east (E). Driving would take 5 days, a buggy would take 92 days and walking would take 133 days.
  • The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,761 miles [10,880.8 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 7,523 miles [12,107.1 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<7>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,653 miles [9,097.6 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<8>

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 obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Shine-Gri-La) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Shine-Gri-La. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 47.8695, Longitude: -122.6890       In this case, the coordinates for Shine-Gri-La have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<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 Shine-Gri-La 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 341.181 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 342.799 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 327.974 degrees.