RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Washington >> Snohomish County >> Spee-Bi-Dah >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Spee-Bi-Dah, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Spee-Bi-Dah 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 Spee-Bi-Dah:
    • 48.091972, -122.322514
    • 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 Spee-Bi-Dah
  • 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 Spee-Bi-Dah ...

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.

  • English
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for English have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for English
    • English is located in Snohomish County
  • John Sam Lake
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for John Sam Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for John Sam Lake
    • John Sam Lake is located in Snohomish County
  • Marysville
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • Mission Beach
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mission Beach have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mission Beach
    • Mission Beach is located in Snohomish County
  • Pebble Beach
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pebble Beach have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pebble Beach
    • Pebble Beach is located in Island County
  • Priest Point
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Priest Point have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Priest Point
    • Priest Point is located in Snohomish County
  • Shaker Church
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shaker Church have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shaker Church
    • Shaker Church is located in Snohomish County
  • Smokey Point
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Sunny Shores
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sunny Shores have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunny Shores
    • Sunny Shores is located in Snohomish County
  • Warm Beach
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Warm Beach have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Warm Beach
    • Warm Beach is located in Snohomish County

How Far From Spee-Bi-Dah 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 Spee-Bi-Dah to various places of note, such as the White House.

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<3> beginning in Spee-Bi-Dah and extending to:

  • Everett, which is the Seat of Snohomish County, lies 9 miles [14.5 km]<3> to the southeast. If you could walk a straight line from Spee-Bi-Dah to Everett, with an average speed<4> 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.
  • Olympia, which is the State Capital of Washington, lies 77 miles [123.9 km] to the south southwest (SSW). 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 5 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 2,319 miles [3,732.1 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<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,741 miles [10,848.6 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 7,503 miles [12,074.9 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<7>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,631 miles [9,062.2 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 drawn from Point A (ie- Spee-Bi-Dah) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Spee-Bi-Dah. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 48.0920, Longitude: -122.3225    
<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 Spee-Bi-Dah 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 340.887 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 342.47 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 327.715 degrees.