Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Bluestone, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Bluestone and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Bluestone
- 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 Bluestone:
- 37.312061, -81.317879
- 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 Bluestone
- 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 Mercer County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Mercer County
- Since Bluestone is near Tazewell County and also McDowell County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Tazewell County
- eBird sighting report for McDowell 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 Bluestone ...
We found seven communities that share the name Bluestone.
Within West Virginia, the name Bluestone is unique.
Beyond West Virginia, we know of another seven communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Georgia
- Indiana
- Kentucky
- Ohio
- Pennsylvania
- Virginia
- Mecklenburg County
- This Bluestone is located in Mecklenburg County and lies 155 miles [249.4 km]<1> to the east southeast of the Bluestone that is located in Mercer County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Mecklenburg County community of Bluestone.
- Roanoke City
- This Bluestone is located in Roanoke City and lies 76 miles [122.3 km] to the east of the Bluestone that is located in Mercer County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Roanoke City community of Bluestone.
Curious and Interesting Names Near Bluestone ...
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.
- Abbs Valley ‑ Historic
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Abbs Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abbs Valley
- Abbs Valley is located in Mercer County
- Big Vein
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest) - Brush Fork
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Brush Fork have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brush Fork
- Brush Fork is located in Mercer County
- Coaldale
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north) - Coopers
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coopers
- Coopers is located in Mercer County
- Falls Mills
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Falls Mills
- Falls Mills is located in Tazewell County (VA)
- Flipping
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast) - Freeman
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freeman
- Freeman is located in Mercer County
- Goodwill
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast) - Hales Bottom
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hales Bottom have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hales Bottom
- Hales Bottom is located in Tazewell County (VA)
- Pocahontas
(Less than 2 miles to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pocahontas
- Pocahontas is located in Tazewell County (VA)
- Population from the 2020 Census: 348 people
- Yards
(Less than 2 miles to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yards
- Yards is located in Tazewell County (VA)
How Far From Bluestone 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 Bluestone to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Bluestone and extending to:
- Princeton, which is the Seat of Mercer County, lies 12 miles [19.3 km]<1> to the east northeast. If you could walk a straight line from Bluestone to Princeton, 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.
- Charleston, which is the State Capital of West Virginia, lies 73 miles [117.5 km] to the north northwest (NNW). 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 257 miles [413.6 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take four to five hours, a buggy would take 10 days and walking would take 15 days.
- The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,147 miles [9,892.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,856 miles [11,033.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,732 miles [7,615.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Bluestone. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for State of West Virginia: https://www.wv.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- Bluestone) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Bluestone. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 37.3121, Longitude: -81.3179 In this case, the coordinates for Bluestone have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <2> | 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. |
| <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 Bluestone 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 310.489 degrees. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 306.163 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 307.06 degrees. |