Outdoor Activities ...

As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).

When in Dearing Downs, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Dearing Downs and the surrounding area.

• Weather ...
  • Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
  • The National Weather Service forecast for Dearing Downs

• 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 Dearing Downs:
  • 33.280669, -86.829989
  • 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.
  • Open the Heavens-Above website centered on Dearing Downs

• 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 Shelby County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
  • Open the eBird sighting report for Shelby County
  • Since Dearing Downs is near Jefferson County and also Bibb County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
  • Open the eBird sighting report for Jefferson County
  • Open the eBird sighting report for Bibb 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:
  • Open the Waymark.com report for Dearing Downs

Curious and Interesting Names Near Dearing Downs ...

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.

• Alabaster
  (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
  • Alabaster is located in Shelby County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alabaster
  • Population from the 2020 Census: 33,701 people
  • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Alabaster <1>
• Fox Haven
  (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
  • Fox Haven is located in Shelby County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fox Haven
• Fungo Hollow
  (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Fungo Hollow is located in Shelby County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fungo Hollow
• Hardy
  (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
  • Hardy is located in Shelby County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hardy
• Helena
  (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
  • Helena is located in Shelby County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Helena
  • Population from the 2020 Census: 20,374 people
  • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Helena <1>
• Hunters Glen ‑ Historic
  (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
  • Hunters Glen is located in Shelby County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hunters Glen
• Keystone
  (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
  • Keystone is located in Shelby County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keystone
• Kingwood
  (Less than 2 miles to the south)
  • Kingwood is located in Shelby County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kingwood
• Mallard Point
  (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
  • Mallard Point is located in Shelby County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mallard Point
• Navajo Hills
  (Less than 2 miles to the south)
  • Navajo Hills is located in Shelby County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Navajo Hills
• Navajo Pines
  (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
  • Navajo Pines is located in Shelby County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Navajo Pines
• Paramount
  (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
  • Paramount is located in Shelby County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paramount
• Roy Ford
  (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  • Roy Ford is located in Shelby County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roy Ford
• Royal Oaks
  (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  • Royal Oaks is located in Shelby County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Royal Oaks

How Far From Dearing Downs 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 Dearing Downs to various places of note, such as the White House.

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<2> beginning in Dearing Downs and extending to:

• Columbiana, which is the Seat of Shelby County, lies 14 miles [22.5 km]<2> to the east southeast. If you could walk a straight line from Dearing Downs to Columbiana, with an average speed<3> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take most of a day to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take four to five hours.
• Montgomery, which is the State Capital of Alabama, lies 69 miles [111 km] to the south southeast (SSE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than two hours, a buggy would take about three full days and walking would take three full days.
• The White House (Washington, DC) is 669 miles [1,076.7 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take just about two full days, a buggy would take 27 days and walking would take 38 days.
• The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,564 miles [10,563.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
• The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,272 miles [11,703.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
• The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,148 miles [8,284.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>'