2002 Q2 Vacation:  38¡46.3195ÕN, 117¡27.39441ÕW

Vacation Selection:  Sun 31 Mar 2002 Ð Tue 3 Apr 2002

Rules

Step 1:  Pick a random latitude and longitude on the globe (using a formula ensuring a uniform distribution on a sphere).

Step 2:  If it is in the water, throw it out and go back to Step 1.

Step 3:  If it is on land, find the nearest city (large enough to have an airport with regularly scheduled commercial flights but no father from the point than 500 miles).  Find the price of a round trip airfare from Newark, NJ to that major city using travelocity.com.  If the roundtrip airfare (specifying ÒI donÕt care about the dates, what is the cheapest possible fareÓ) is more than $500, throw out the point and go back to step 1.

Step 4:  If the roundtrip price is under $500 to that city, then this will be my random spot for the 2002 Q2 vacation.

 

Step 5:  If the Òas the crow fliesÓ distance from my apartment to the random point is under 500 miles and accessible by road from my apartment, then it will be a driving vacation.  Otherwise, I will fly.

Random Points

#

Bearing

Dist

Latitude

Longitude

Nearest Landmark

Airfare to Closest Airport

1

346¡31.43738Õ

10660.8mi

15¡0.101223ÕS

111¡29.07166ÕE

Indian Ocean

 

2

276¡22.10449Õ

5528.605mi

11¡19.79124ÕN

160¡53.83392ÕW

Pacific Ocean

 

3

313¡22.59521Õ

4210.504mi

50¡34.07593ÕN

166¡7.042236ÕW

Pacific Ocean

 

4

2¡7.43926Õ

6007.887mi

52¡45.51476ÕN

101¡56.07788ÕE

Kutulik, Russia

$1449 (Ulaanbaatar)

5

221¡54.90784Õ

6151.765mi

33¡43.09227ÕS

127¡58.60794ÕW

Pacific Ocean

 

6

49¡36.93398Õ

9020.569mi

2¡29.74191ÕS

69¡57.12067ÕE

Indian Ocean

 

7

205¡8.408203Õ

9369.373mi

70¡58.33832ÕS

171¡31.09863ÕE

Ross Sea

 

8

220¡50.85205Õ

10323.15mi

58¡19.95644ÕS

145¡1.175537ÕE

Australian Sea

 

9

326¡5.467529Õ

3047.143mi

64¡49.93057ÕN

140¡21.59637ÕW

Dawson, Yukon, Canada

$933 (Dawson)

10

48¡10.55054Õ

6215.245mi

30¡39.68262ÕN

45¡24.49539ÕE

Ur, Iraq

$1133 (Kuwait)

11

20¡58.30067Õ

5054.756mi

60¡23.06511ÕN

61¡34.90082ÕE

Ivdel, Russia

$1168 (Perm)

12

262¡25.9808Õ

4182.476mi

13¡23.93206ÕN

137¡0.6710815ÕW

Pacific Ocean

 

13

152¡16.47125Õ

7208.878mi

54¡23.74763ÕS

23¡47.22233ÕW

Atlantic Ocean

 

14

31¡3.18821Õ

10568.02mi

16¡4.573517ÕS

91¡13.61481ÕE

Pacific Ocean

 

15

111¡54.38278Õ

4813.891mi

2¡20.53122ÕS

14¡3.965893ÕW

Atlantic Ocean

 

16

46¡11.81053Õ

7157.625mi

21¡14.26208ÕN

56¡35.4435ÕE

Al Ghubr, Oman

$1642 (Muscat)

17

54¡18.78227Õ

6133.993mi

27¡21.18965ÕN

39¡20.72525ÕE

Tayma,Saudi Arabia

$2044 (Madina)

18

302¡52.58057Õ

2843.773mi

49¡26.47659ÕN

132¡41.63269ÕW

Pacific Ocean

 

19

339¡36.26221Õ

5611.097mi

53¡41.43723ÕN

140¡59.71802ÕE

Sea of Okhotsk

 

20

127¡28.16185Õ

9824.279mi

52¡28.16185ÕS

51¡45.51178ÕE

Indian Ocean

 

21

346¡40.75745Õ

7161.668mi

34¡43.55553ÕN

121¡15.36667ÕE

Yellow Sea

 

22

93¡53.96393Õ

10649.39mi

37¡10.75768ÕS

72¡5.429993ÕE

Indian Ocean

 

23

256¡21.0498Õ

9608.596mi

37¡18.31192ÕS

158¡51.06903ÕE

Tasman Sea

 

24

75¡39.0097Õ

3315.921mi

35¡1.29158ÕN

13¡7.408619ÕW

Atlantic Ocean

 

25

44¡28.26027Õ

7995.743mi

12¡10.721ÕN

65¡10.3862ÕE

Arabian Sea

 

26

260¡0.06958008Õ

8678.991mi

28¡54.45843ÕS

171¡48.90106ÕE

Pacific Ocean

 

27

5¡3.355265Õ

12005.62mi

33¡55.43839ÕS

104¡45.4921ÕE

Indian Ocean

 

28

98¡5.847931Õ

3781.816mi

16¡39.52641ÕN

17¡5.289001ÕW

Atlantic Ocean

 

29

283¡24.646Õ

8988.379mi

16¡15.75062ÕS

156¡24.74762ÕE

Pacific Ocean

 

30

222¡41.13556Õ

10999.21mi

53¡36.62498ÕS

129¡35.86304ÕE

Australian Sea

 

31

139¡15.28656Õ

7600.515mi

49¡44.81506ÕS

2¡46.26988ÕW

Atlantic Ocean

 

32

136¡14.32434Õ

1023.309mi

29¡1.682396ÕN

62¡54.40498ÕW

Atlantic Ocean

 

33

179¡50.77515Õ

8735.007mi

85¡56.64642ÕS

72¡48.05145ÕW

Thiel Mtns, Antarctica

No Flights

34

309¡4.894409Õ

4179.65mi

47¡30.65437ÕN

162¡44.98901ÕW

Pacific Ocean

 

35

3¡6.453867Õ

9430.671mi

3¡16.834ÕN

103¡17.51633ÕE

Kampong Tanjong Batu, Malaysia

$1385 (Kuantan)

36

47¡30.92239Õ

4331.838mi

49¡0.4417419ÕN

18¡44.1711ÕE

Vricko, Slovakia

$600 (Bratislava)

37

250¡45.00732Õ

9108.081mi

38¡10.57983ÕS

169¡12.61047ÕE

Tasman Sea

 

38

131¡56.57959Õ

5234.97mi

19¡29.21036ÕS

24¡41.84189ÕW

Atlantic Ocean

 

39

71¡23.96622Õ

2746.992mi

40¡47.28973ÕN

21¡26.78627ÕW

Atlantic Ocean

 

40

144¡59.6283Õ

9440.353mi

64¡3.94455ÕS

40¡50.91682ÕE

Indian Ocean

 

41

73¡43.20236Õ

10677.31mi

29¡24.70127ÕS

76¡57.86133ÕE

Indian Ocean

 

42

209¡38.92639Õ

6355.355mi

43¡6.276169ÕS

117¡11.01196ÕW

Pacific Ocean

 

43

329¡32.43347Õ

1833.807mi

60¡45.0341ÕN

102¡8.847198ÕW

Snowbird Lake, NWT, Canada

No Flights

44

297¡21.92505Õ

5331.704mi

29¡5.598564ÕN

172¡25.43976ÕW

Pacific Ocean

 

45

266¡58.71826Õ

6217.239mi

2¡13.59107ÕS

162¡30.80658ÕW

Pacific Ocean

 

46

346¡12.16919Õ

8842.179mi

10¡49.06254ÕN

116¡29.78073ÕE

South China Sea

 

47

93¡33.96423Õ

9562.925mi

30¡57.75249ÕS

54¡38.03581ÕE

Indian Ocean

 

48

108¡56.79794Õ

7386.47mi

25¡4.793472ÕS

16¡38.29914ÕE

Duwisib Castle, Namibia

$2279 (Win dhoek)

49

149¡22.41669Õ

7460.647mi

55¡22.10518ÕS

15¡59.65931ÕW

Atlantic Ocean

 

50

171¡14.04327Õ

9120.142mi

83¡13.54156ÕS

31¡12.3587ÕE

South Pole, Antarctica

No Flights

51

350¡8.168335Õ

9349.569mi

4¡2.46048ÕN

112¡23.68881ÕE

South China Sea

 

52

179¡40.7309Õ

2942.844mi

2¡12.4944ÕS

74¡20.52383ÕW

Copal Urcu, Peru

$1046 (Iquitos)

53

80¡22.65518Õ

10152.23mi

28¡8.316765ÕS

67¡39.3306ÕE

Indian Ocean

 

54

39¡59.78096Õ

3001.978mi

60¡38.13904ÕN

10¡19.4458ÕW

Atlantic Ocean

 

55

336¡32.15515Õ

9333.738mi

2¡9.90253ÕN

121¡49.40643ÕE

Sulu Sea

 

56

125¡7.707825Õ

6650.21mi

30¡21.27537ÕS

4¡6.557665ÕW

Atlantic Ocean

 

57

200¡5.293579Õ

7236.77mi

58¡52.88841ÕS

114¡34.82712ÕW

Pacific Ocean

 

58

133¡22.11823Õ

7931.889mi

48¡13.84575ÕS

8¡2.789326ÕE

Atlantic Ocean

 

59

240¡40.53497Õ

8804.334mi

43¡33.64815ÕS

178¡37.97791ÕE

Pacific Ocean

 

60

196¡29.21448Õ

4738.224mi

26¡17.12997ÕS

91¡41.24039ÕW

Pacific Ocean

 

61

249¡13.6908Õ

5731.951mi

10¡49.69402ÕS

145¡23.73047ÕW

Pacific Ocean

 

62

277¡51.28967Õ

6188.715mi

6¡19.45344ÕN

169¡15.46051ÕW

Pacific Ocean

 

63

301¡5.414429Õ

3830.653mi

43¡45.7093ÕN

151¡55.32806ÕW

Pacific Ocean

 

64

20¡34.23283Õ

1408.776mi

58¡46.75644ÕN

60¡54.8513ÕW

Labrador Sea

 

65

109¡8.707123Õ

9211.506mi

38¡41.67229ÕS

43¡27.827ÕE

Indian Ocean

 

66

26¡29.8629Õ

6781.058mi

35¡48.32634ÕN

72¡26.0321ÕE

Kalam, Pakistan

$1280 (Islamabad)

67

333¡45.04211Õ

4507.128mi

63¡9.962769ÕN

168¡12.25616ÕE

Penzhino, Russia

No Flights

68

176¡4.923706Õ

6683.866mi

56¡6.620407ÕS

67¡34.08979ÕW

Drake Passage

 

69

137¡23.48145Õ

4224.806mi

10¡15.26207ÕS

37¡32.04964ÕW

Carira, Brazil

$609 (Aracaju)

70

108¡20.09216Õ

3359.656mi

14¡23.36981ÕN

27¡16.37398ÕW

Atlantic Ocean

 

71

146¡24.99664Õ

7062.7mi

49¡10.15709ÕS

18¡44.80488ÕW

Atlantic Ocean

 

72

347¡33.63281Õ

10777.98mi

16¡35.45082ÕS

110¡43.40057ÕE

Indian Ocean

 

73

343¡31.77795Õ

6121.554mi

48¡23.41827ÕN

130¡42.32391ÕE

Jaiyin, China

$1374 (Harbin)

74

358¡18.95325Õ

2393.102mi

74¡53.50983ÕN

78¡13.84232ÕW

Baffin Bay

 

75

50¡58.34267Õ

5606.145mi

35¡5.414429ÕN

35¡44.97345ÕE

Mediterranean Sea

 

76

341¡6.086426Õ

3750.811mi

74¡28.25638ÕN

175¡35.32562ÕW

Arctic Ocean

 

77

38¡14.95605Õ

8882.723mi

3¡49.88613ÕN

76¡21.18164ÕE

Indian Ocean

 

78

66¡27.40265Õ

6531.974mi

14¡41.23701ÕN

34¡33.0217ÕE

Husheib, Sudan

$2228 (Khartoom)

79

85¡12.97485Õ

4589.499mi

18¡32.07745ÕN

0¡14.69911ÕW

Anefis, Mali

$1409 (Bamako)

80

118¡5.119171Õ

6459.706mi

23¡21.51958ÕS

0¡57.36621ÕW

Atlantic Ocean

 

81

90¡12.35046Õ

6607.465mi

3¡43.72784ÕS

19¡31.44287ÕE

Yuki, Congo

$1599 (Kinshasa)

82

345¡58.79883Õ

8236.479mi

19¡22.76745ÕN

118¡24.65149ÕE

South China Sea

 

83

235¡22.51648Õ

3868.322mi

0¡13.43213ÕN

117¡31.72852ÕW

Pacific Ocean

 

84

333¡31.81641Õ

1378.673mi

57¡15.44586ÕN

90¡52.52563ÕW

Churchill, Manitoba, Canada

$785 (Thompson)

85

265¡20.00244Õ

6231.093mi

3¡36.55548ÕS

161¡35.90332ÕW

Pacific Ocean

 

86

267¡14.10461Õ

9377.638mi

29¡12.45964ÕS

158¡40.1889ÕE

Pacific Ocean

 

87

245¡24.89319Õ

7338.819mi

28¡57.47669ÕS

161¡27.32208ÕW

Pacific Ocean

 

88

238¡36.80145Õ

4958.642mi

9¡59.52318ÕS

129¡56.26923ÕW

Pacific Ocean

 

89

263¡37.22168Õ

3799.936mi

17¡36.56376ÕN

133¡8.778076ÕW

Pacific Ocean

 

90

4¡40.17326Õ

4807.385mi

69¡46.0437ÕN

92¡42.13989ÕE

Norilsk, Russia

No Flights

91

337¡59.35913Õ

5307.608mi

56¡45.66536ÕN

147¡9.612122ÕE

Sea of Okhotsk

 

92

132¡45.57495Õ

9740.949mi

55¡57.84439ÕS

49¡28.9135ÕE

Indian Ocean

 

93

219¡43.52051Õ

6558.048mi

39¡40.69084ÕS

130¡23.97308ÕW

Pacific Ocean

 

94

228¡42.95929Õ

2903.129mi

8¡19.89092ÕN

105¡4.981384ÕW

Pacific Ocean

 

95

6¡19.26908Õ

3502.138mi

85¡3.191528ÕN

24¡39.85828ÕE

Arctic Ocean

 

96

134¡58.36853Õ

3393.746mi

0¡58.85464ÕN

42¡14.96155ÕW

Atlantic Ocean

 

97

124¡41.0083Õ

2010.063mi

20¡47.98611ÕN

49¡15.97366ÕW

Atlantic Ocean

 

98

138¡41.44501Õ

5744.646mi

29¡20.64686ÕS

25¡49.17847ÕW

Atlantic Ocean

 

99

324¡15.48706Õ

6883.752mi

30¡12.49249ÕN

147¡14.81232ÕE

Pacific Ocean

 

100

75¡15.63217Õ

2762.728mi

38¡22.35832ÕN

22¡11.58257ÕW

Atlantic Ocean

 

101

197¡29.8526Õ

3927.352mi

14¡41.20697ÕS

89¡37.84653ÕW

Pacific Ocean

 

102

346¡2.336426Õ

5351.767mi

59¡41.82243ÕN

133¡15.18494ÕE

Ust Maya, Russia

No Flights

103

138¡35.10956Õ

11725.42mi

47¡46.41174ÕS

95¡7.266998ÕE

Indian Ocean

 

104

32¡33.94638Õ

11189.05mi

24¡26.13132ÕS

94¡46.56418ÕE

Indian Ocean

 

105

347¡58.27698Õ

6178.441mi

48¡51.76872ÕN

123¡54.45694ÕE

Morin Dawa, China

$1374 (Harbin)

106

32¡50.49271Õ

7842.53mi

19¡19.78592ÕN

73¡36.09924ÕE

Vslshakhare, India

$1500 (Poona)

107

312¡39.6167Õ

8986.149mi

1¡5.649047ÕS

139¡47.05902ÕE

Pacific Ocean

 

108

94¡54.34845Õ

11153.23mi

39¡20.08919ÕS

80¡58.1456ÕE

Indian Ocean

 

109

330¡0.4870605Õ

4649.379mi

59¡14.54338ÕN

169¡45.27466ÕE

Bering Sea

 

110

59¡57.72926Õ

5714.94mi

27¡29.18804ÕN

30¡1.63353ÕE

Dairut, Egypt

$830 (Cairo)

111

163¡18.62732Õ

2359.446mi

7¡15.86503ÕN

65¡12.96616ÕW

Cabruta, Venezuela

$509 (Caracas)

112

191¡11.81396Õ

7077.549mi

60¡18.0732ÕS

97¡4.42749ÕW

Pacific Ocean

 

113

300¡34.98047Õ

8053.978mi

3¡23.31908ÕN

155¡59.63837ÕE

Pacific Ocean

 

114

190¡43.90594Õ

2984.75mi

2¡17.49527ÕS

81¡52.93304ÕW

Pacific Ocean

 

115

333¡8.113404Õ

7627.74mi

24¡25.79762ÕN

133¡11.26099ÕE

Pacific Ocean

 

116

94¡20.7843Õ

5714.65mi

1¡29.01007ÕN

7¡0.4377365ÕE

Atlantic Ocean

 

117

281¡28.05725Õ

2267.813mi

38¡46.3195ÕN

117¡27.39441ÕW

Grantsville, Nevada, USA

$296 (Reno)

 

And the Winner

#117 has a roundtrip airfare under $500, so it will be where my next vacation will be.  Grantsville, Nevada.  It is more than 500 miles away, so I will be flying rather than driving.  The closest airport with flights from Newark seems to be Reno, so I will be heading to there via Reno.  IÕll probably rent a car to go the 100 miles or so from Reno to the random spot itself.

 

 

(Map from mapquest.comÉ  Thanks!)

 

As per MapQuest (above) the spot itself is along Indian Creek, South of Cow Canyon and north of Ledbeller Canyon. Just East of Nevada Route 21.  It appears to be inside the Toiyabe National Forest.  On a Map on the Toiyabe National Forest Website it appears the spot is on something called Mahogany Hill.

 

The closest town marked on MapQuest is Grantsville, Nevada.  Grantsville is about six miles Northwest of my spot.  I found this quote on the web about the Grantsville:

 

ÒReachable only via  many miles of dirt roads, Grantsville is an interesting ghost town located far out in the Ione Valley of Central Nevada. Ruins of a stamp mill and other buildings remain.Ó 

(Quote from http://www.rangerovers.net/photographs/roverscenes/roverscenes2.htm)

 

(Picture from ghosttownexplorers.orgÉ  Thanks!)

 

Here are a few sites with information about Grantsville:

http://www.ghosttowns.com/states/nv/grantsville.html

http://www.ghosttownexplorers.org/nevada/grantsville/grantsville.htm

http://www.geocities.com/mrguy33/Grantsville.html

http://nvghosttowns.topcities.com/nye/grants.htm

http://catmandoo2.topcities.com/grantsville.html

 

It appears that in the area there are a variety of ghost towns, the Berlin-Ichthyosaur State Park (apparently this is the only place where complete Ichthyosaur fossils have been found), andÉ  uhÉ  more kind of desert type old west sort of stuff.

 

Now, of course, unless I felt like sleeping in one of the old abandoned buildings, or pitching a tent, there are not really any places to stay in Grantsville itself.  IÕll be looking around at some of the nearby towns that actually still have living populations to find a place to stay.  It looks like there is a B&B in Manhattan, Nevada listed in one place I found, and several possibilities in Austin, Nevada.  Manhattan is closer to the spot as the crow flies, but by road Austin is closer, so that may be where I will stay.  But I will investigate the options before deciding. I am aiming at going in late May 2002.  I have a few weeks to figure out what I want to do and make the arrangements.

 

This should be great!!!  Old West Ghost towns here I come!