Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Pencil Bluff, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Pencil Bluff and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Pencil Bluff
- 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 Pencil Bluff:
- 34.629821, -93.734363
- 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 Pencil Bluff
- 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 Montgomery County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Montgomery County
- Since Pencil Bluff is near Scott County and also Polk County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Scott County
- eBird sighting report for Polk 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 Pencil Bluff ...
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.
- Alf
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest) - Buck Knob
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest) - Buddys Landing
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Buddys Landing have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buddys Landing
- Buddys Landing is located in Montgomery County
- Hog Jaw
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest) - Hurricane Grove
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hurricane Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hurricane Grove
- Hurricane Grove is located in Montgomery County
- Mimosa
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south) - Norman
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Norman have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norman
- Norman is located in Montgomery County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 363 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Norman <2>
- Pine Ridge
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pine Ridge have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Ridge
- Pine Ridge is located in Montgomery County
- Redbird ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest) - Ruble
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east) - Sulphur Springs
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sulphur Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sulphur Springs
- Sulphur Springs is located in Montgomery County
- Sweethome
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east) - Union Hill
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Union Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union Hill
- Union Hill is located in Montgomery County
How Far From Pencil Bluff 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 Pencil Bluff to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<3> beginning in Pencil Bluff and extending to:
- Mount Ida, which is the Seat of Montgomery County, lies just to the Southeast.
- Little Rock, which is the State Capital of Arkansas, lies 83 miles [133.6 km]<3> to the east (E). If you could drive a straight line from Pencil Bluff to Little Rock, 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 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 967 miles [1,556.2 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take most of two days, a buggy would take 38 days and walking would take 55 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,772 miles [10,898.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,504 miles [12,076.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,382 miles [8,661.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Pencil Bluff. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for State of Arkansas: https://portal.arkansas.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> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <3> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Pencil Bluff) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Pencil Bluff. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 34.6298, Longitude: -93.7344 In this case, the coordinates for Pencil Bluff 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 Pencil Bluff 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 318.121 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 314.594 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 313.039 degrees. |