Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Fries, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Fries and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Fries
- 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 Fries:
- 36.715185, -80.973966
- 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 Fries
- 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 Grayson County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Grayson County
- Since Fries is near Carroll County and also Galax City, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Carroll County
- eBird sighting report for Galax City
- 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 Fries ...
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.
- Buck
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north) - Carsonville
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Carsonville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carsonville
- Carsonville is located in Grayson County
- Cliffview
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast) - Fowler Ferry
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fowler Ferry have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fowler Ferry
- Fowler Ferry is located in Carroll County
- Fries Junction
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fries Junction have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fries Junction
- Fries Junction is located in Carroll County
- Hebron
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast) - Hickory Flat
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hickory Flat have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hickory Flat
- Hickory Flat is located in Carroll County
- Hilltown
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest) - Moore Ferry
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Moore Ferry have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moore Ferry
- Moore Ferry is located in Grayson County
- Oak Grove
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Grove
- Oak Grove is located in Carroll County
- Providence
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)- 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 Grayson County
- Spring Valley
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Spring Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Valley
- Spring Valley is located in Grayson County
- Wolf Glade
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wolf Glade have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wolf Glade
- Wolf Glade is located in Carroll County
How Far From Fries 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 town such as Fries to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<2> beginning in Fries and extending to:
- Independence, which is the Seat of Grayson County, lies 11 miles [17.7 km]<2> to the west southwest. If you could walk a straight line from Fries to Independence, with an average speed<3> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take five to six hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take nearly four hours.
- Richmond, which is the State Capital of Virginia, lies 202 miles [325.1 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take a little over three hours, a buggy would take 8 days and walking would take 12 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 262 miles [421.6 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take four to five hours, a buggy would take 11 days and walking would take 15 days.
- The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,159 miles [9,911.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,865 miles [11,048.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,742 miles [7,631.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Fries. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for State of Virginia: https://www.virginia.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 '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- Fries) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Fries. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 36.7152, Longitude: -80.9740 |
| <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 Fries 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 310.291 degrees. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 305.85 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 307.104 degrees. |