Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Plano, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Plano and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Plano
- 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 Plano:
- 34.114264, -85.727465
- 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 Plano
- 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 Cherokee County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Cherokee County
- Since Plano is near Etowah County and also Calhoun County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Etowah County
- eBird sighting report for Calhoun 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
Communities Also Named Plano ...
We found fourteen communities that share the name Plano.
Within Alabama, the name Plano is unique.
Beyond Alabama, we know of another fourteen communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- California
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Comanche County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<2> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Kansas community of Plano [Comanche County].
- Stafford County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Kansas community of Plano [Stafford County].
- Kentucky
- Minnesota
- Missouri
- Nebraska
- Ohio
- South Dakota
- Texas
Curious and Interesting Names Near Plano ...
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.
- Ballplay
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ballplay
- Ballplay is located in Etowah County
- Billy Goat Hill
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Billy Goat Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Billy Goat Hill
- Billy Goat Hill is located in Cherokee County
- Centre
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centre
- Centre is located in Cherokee County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,616 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Centre <5>
- Dixon Shop
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dixon Shop have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dixon Shop
- Dixon Shop is located in Cherokee County
- Edwards Ferry
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Edwards Ferry have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edwards Ferry
- Edwards Ferry is located in Cherokee County
- Griffin
(5 miles [8 km] to the north) - Hopewell
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north) - Kings Hill ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kings Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kings Hill
- Kings Hill is located in Cherokee County
- Leesburg
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leesburg
- Leesburg is located in Cherokee County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,016 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Leesburg <5>
- Maple Grove
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Maple Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maple Grove
- Maple Grove is located in Cherokee County
- Pope
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast) - Slackland
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west) - Turkey Town ‑ Historic
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Turkey Town have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turkey Town
- Turkey Town is located in Cherokee County
- Wood Ferry
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wood Ferry have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wood Ferry
- Wood Ferry is located in Cherokee County
How Far From Plano 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 Plano to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Plano and extending to:
- Centre, which is the Seat of Cherokee County, lies just to the Northeast.
- Montgomery, which is the State Capital of Alabama, lies 124 miles [199.6 km]<1> to the south southwest (SSW). If you could drive a straight line from Plano to Montgomery, with an average speed<6>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take about two hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 7 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 5 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 584 miles [939.9 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take just over a day, a buggy would take 23 days and walking would take 34 days.
- The shortest distance<7> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,478 miles [10,425.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,186 miles [11,564.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,063 miles [8,148.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<10>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Plano. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for State of Alabama: https://www.alabama.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or 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- Plano) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Plano. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 34.1143, Longitude: -85.7275 In this case, the coordinates for Plano have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <2> | If we encounter the name of what might be a community, our methodology is to add that name to our Gazetteer as a placeholder. As we find more information about that community, it will be added to our Gazetteer. Just as a reminder: Our definition of a community is rather broad and includes those places (or areas) where several families lived and had a name which identified that place. For example, you might hear somebody say that they are going over to Mile's to see Pete ... Mile's is just a gas station and a couple of homes at the crossroads. While it might not be on the map, everybody in the area knows it by that name. Places of interest include buildings at a crossroad, several families clustered in a hollow or maybe the location of a way station. It also includes places like mines, lumber camps, ferry crossings, etc. The community might still exist, is now gone or only existed for just a short period of time. Also keep in mind that Plano could have been on the original document by mistake, misspelled, the original/alternate name of a community that we've listed elsewhere or was placed in the wrong county. Sometimes a post office or train station would have a different name than the community where it's located, so two names might be referring to the same community - we're working to straighten it all out. |
| <3> | 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 Plano, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | 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. |
| <5> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <6> | 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. |
| <7> | 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 Plano to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 313.064 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 308.664 degrees. |
| <10> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 309.733 degrees. |