Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Fountainrun, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Fountainrun and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Fountainrun
- 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 Fountainrun:
- 33.499273, -86.318867
- 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 Fountainrun
- 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 Saint Clair County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Saint Clair County
- Since Fountainrun is near Talladega County and also Shelby County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Talladega County
- eBird sighting report for Shelby 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 Fountainrun ...
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.
- Cloverdale
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cloverdale have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cloverdale
- Cloverdale is located in Shelby County
- Eden
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north) - Enchanted Hills
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Enchanted Hills have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Enchanted Hills
- Enchanted Hills is located in Saint Clair County
- Fishtrap
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east) - Glen City
(5 miles [8 km] to the north) - Harrisburg
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Harrisburg have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harrisburg
- Harrisburg is located in Saint Clair County
- Hunting Ridge
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hunting Ridge have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hunting Ridge
- Hunting Ridge is located in Saint Clair County
- Jonesview
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast) - Lakeview
(5 miles [8 km] to the north) - Park Hill
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north) - Pine Orchard
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pine Orchard have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Orchard
- Pine Orchard is located in Saint Clair County
- Pleasant Grove
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pleasant Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Grove
- Pleasant Grove is located in Saint Clair County
- Rocky Ridge
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rocky Ridge have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rocky Ridge
- Rocky Ridge is located in Talladega County
- Wolf Creek
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wolf Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wolf Creek
- Wolf Creek is located in Saint Clair County
How Far From Fountainrun 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 Fountainrun 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 Fountainrun once stood, the straight-line distance<3> beginning in Fountainrun and extending to:
- Ashville, which is the Seat of Saint Clair County, lies 23 miles [37 km]<3> to the north. If you could walk a straight line from Fountainrun to Ashville, with an average speed<4> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take just about two full days to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take most of a day.
- Montgomery, which is the State Capital of Alabama, lies 77 miles [123.9 km] to the south (S). 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 636 miles [1,023.5 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take just over a day, a buggy would take 25 days and walking would take 37 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,532 miles [10,512.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,239 miles [11,650 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,116 miles [8,233.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Saint Clair County: www.stclairco.com/
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 Fountainrun, 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 drawn from Point A (ie- Fountainrun) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Fountainrun. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 33.4993, Longitude: -86.3189 In this case, the coordinates for Fountainrun 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 Fountainrun 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 313.385 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 308.948 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 310.107 degrees. |