Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in De Soto Manor, we use the following websites to find information relevant to De Soto Manor and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for De Soto Manor
- 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 De Soto Manor:
- 33.622325, -85.973580
- 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 De Soto Manor
- 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 Calhoun County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Calhoun County
- Since De Soto Manor is near Talladega County and also Tallapoosa County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Talladega County
- eBird sighting report for Tallapoosa 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 De Soto Manor ...
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.
- Blue Eye ‑ Historic
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest) - Boozer ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest) - Coldwater
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast) - Dry Valley
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dry Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dry Valley
- Dry Valley is located in Talladega County
- Echo Hills
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Echo Hills have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Echo Hills
- Echo Hills is located in Talladega County
- Grant Town
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Grant Town have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grant Town
- Grant Town is located in Talladega County
- Hall Grove
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hall Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hall Grove
- Hall Grove is located in Talladega County
- House ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east) - Martins Mill
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Martins Mill have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Martins Mill
- Martins Mill is located in Talladega County
- Meadowbrook
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Meadowbrook have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadowbrook
- Meadowbrook is located in Calhoun County
- Mechanicsville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mechanicsville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mechanicsville
- Mechanicsville is located in Calhoun County
- Plum Springs
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Plum Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plum Springs
- Plum Springs is located in Talladega County
- Continue List (5 more) ...
- Polkville ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north) - Silver Run
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Silver Run have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver Run
- Silver Run is located in Talladega County
- Sweet Home
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sweet Home have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sweet Home
- Sweet Home is located in Talladega County
- Trinity
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east) - Wayside
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Polkville ‑ Historic
How Far From De Soto Manor to ...
We spend a lot of time looking through Gazetteers, Almanacs & Directories that were published in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Many of the Gazetteers include the distance from a community such as De Soto Manor to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<2> beginning in De Soto Manor and extending to:
- Anniston, which is the Seat of Calhoun County, lies just to the East Northeast.
- Montgomery, which is the State Capital of Alabama, lies 88 miles [141.6 km]<2> to the south southwest (SSW). If you could drive a straight line from De Soto Manor to Montgomery, with an average speed<3>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 5 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 616 miles [991.4 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take just over a day, a buggy would take 24 days and walking would take 35 days.
- The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,512 miles [10,480 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,219 miles [11,617.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,095 miles [8,199.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for De Soto Manor. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Calhoun County: www.calhouncounty.org/
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> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a '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- De Soto Manor) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in De Soto Manor. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 33.6223, Longitude: -85.9736 In this case, the coordinates for De Soto Manor have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <3> | 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. |
| <4> | 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 De Soto Manor to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <5> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 313.186 degrees. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 308.735 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 309.942 degrees. |