Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Blue Lock, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Blue Lock and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Blue Lock
- 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 Blue Lock:
- 32.288476, -87.889736
- 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 Blue Lock
- 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 Marengo County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Marengo County
- Since Blue Lock is near Choctaw County and also Sumter County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Choctaw County
- eBird sighting report for Sumter 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 Blue Lock ...
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.
- Calvary
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast) - Campground
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Campground have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Campground
- Campground is located in Marengo County
- Edna
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west) - Geneva
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest) - Griffins ‑ Historic
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest) - Half Acre
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Half Acre
- Half Acre is located in Marengo County
- Former names for Half Acre:
- Hell's Half Acre
- Luther's Store
- Half Chance
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Half Chance have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Half Chance
- Half Chance is located in Marengo County
- Hill Top
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south) - Murphys Ferry
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Murphys Ferry have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Murphys Ferry
- Murphys Ferry is located in Choctaw County
- Octagon
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast) - Pin Hook
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pin Hook
- Pin Hook is located in Marengo County
- Providence
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Providence have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Providence
- Providence is located in Marengo County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 198 people
How Far From Blue Lock 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 Blue Lock to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers and using the location of where the historic<2> community of Blue Lock once stood, the straight-line distance<3> beginning in Blue Lock and extending to:
- Linden, which is the Seat of Marengo County, lies just to the East Northeast.
- Montgomery, which is the State Capital of Alabama, lies 92 miles [148.1 km]<3> to the east (E). If you could drive a straight line from Blue Lock to Montgomery, with an average speed<4>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take less than two hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 6 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take most of three days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 760 miles [1,223.1 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take just about two full days, a buggy would take 30 days and walking would take 44 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,656 miles [10,711.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,363 miles [11,849.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,240 miles [8,433 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for State of Alabama: https://www.alabama.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> | 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 Blue Lock, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <3> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or 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- Blue Lock) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Blue Lock. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 32.2885, Longitude: -87.8897 In this case, the coordinates for Blue Lock 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 Blue Lock 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 314.242 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 309.774 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 310.977 degrees. |