Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Ballplay, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Ballplay and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Ballplay
- 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 Ballplay:
- 34.059184, -85.808364
- 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 Ballplay
- 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 Etowah County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Etowah County
- Since Ballplay is near Cherokee County and also Calhoun County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Cherokee 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 Ballplay ...
We found one communities that share the name Ballplay.
Within Alabama, the name Ballplay is unique.
Beyond Alabama, there is another community also named Ballplay in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
Curious and Interesting Names Near Ballplay ...
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.
- Bath Springs
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bath Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bath Springs
- Bath Springs is located in Etowah County
- Coat's Bend
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coat's Bend
- Coat's Bend is located in Etowah County
- Dixon Shop
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dixon Shop have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dixon Shop
- Dixon Shop is located in Cherokee County
- Edwardsville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edwardsville
- Edwardsville is located in Etowah County
- Hokes Bluff
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hokes Bluff have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hokes Bluff
- Hokes Bluff is located in Etowah County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,240 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hokes Bluff <3>
- Hokes Bluff Ferry
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hokes Bluff Ferry have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hokes Bluff Ferry
- Hokes Bluff Ferry is located in Etowah County
- Kings Hill ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kings Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kings Hill
- Kings Hill is located in Cherokee County
- Luke
(5 miles [8 km] to the west) - Maple Grove
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Maple Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maple Grove
- Maple Grove is located in Cherokee County
- Slackland
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north) - Turkeytown
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turkeytown
- Turkeytown is located in Etowah County
- Wood Ferry
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wood Ferry have been provided by the GNIS.<2> 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 Ballplay 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 Ballplay to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Ballplay and extending to:
- Gadsden, which is the Seat of Etowah County, lies 11 miles [17.7 km]<1> to the west southwest. If you could walk a straight line from Ballplay to Gadsden, with an average speed<4> 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.
- Montgomery, which is the State Capital of Alabama, lies 119 miles [191.5 km] to the south southwest (SSW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take about two hours, a buggy would take 5 days and walking would take 7 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 590 miles [949.5 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<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,484 miles [10,435 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,192 miles [11,574.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,069 miles [8,157.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Ballplay. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Etowah County: www.etowahcounty.org/
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' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Ballplay) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Ballplay. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 34.0592, Longitude: -85.8084 |
| <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're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <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 Ballplay 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 313.11 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 308.709 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 309.778 degrees. |