RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Alabama >> Tuscaloosa County >> Four Winds >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

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

  • Weather ...
  • 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 Four Winds:
    • 33.350116, -87.566673
    • 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 Four Winds
  • 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 Tuscaloosa County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Tuscaloosa County
    • Since Four Winds is near Fayette County and also Jefferson County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Fayette County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Jefferson 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 Four Winds

Communities Also Named Four Winds ...

We found two communities that are also named Four Winds.

Within Alabama, the name Four Winds is unique.

Beyond Alabama, we know of two communities that are located in the United States.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Georgia
      • Gwinnett County
      • This Four Winds is located in Gwinnett County and lies 199 miles [320.3 km]<1> to the east of the Four Winds that is located in Tuscaloosa County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Gwinnett County community of Four Winds.
    • Maryland
      • Baltimore County
      • This Four Winds is located in Baltimore County and lies 736 miles [1,184.5 km]<1> to the northeast of the Four Winds that is located in Tuscaloosa County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Baltimore County community of Four Winds.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Four Winds ...

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.

  • Bridgeview
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Bridgeview is located in Tuscaloosa County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bridgeview
  • Burnt Pine
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Burnt Pine is located in Tuscaloosa County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burnt Pine
  • Cherokee Shores
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Cherokee Shores is located in Tuscaloosa County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherokee Shores
  • Cove Park
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Cove Park is located in Tuscaloosa County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cove Park
  • Edwardian Place
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Edwardian Place is located in Tuscaloosa County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edwardian Place
  • High Cliff
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • High Cliff is located in Tuscaloosa County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for High Cliff
  • Holiday Shores
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Holiday Shores is located in Tuscaloosa County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holiday Shores
  • Lake Cove
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Lake Cove is located in Tuscaloosa County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Cove
  • Smoke Rise
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Smoke Rise is located in Tuscaloosa County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smoke Rise
  • Vista Granda
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Vista Granda is located in Tuscaloosa County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vista Granda
  • Willow Point
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Willow Point is located in Tuscaloosa County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willow Point

How Far From Four Winds 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 Four Winds to various places of note, such as the White House.

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Four Winds and extending to:

  • Tuscaloosa, which is the Seat of Tuscaloosa County, lies 10 miles [16.1 km]<1> to the south. If you could walk a straight line from Four Winds to Tuscaloosa, with an average speed<2> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take four to five hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take a little over three hours.
  • Montgomery, which is the State Capital of Alabama, lies 99 miles [159.3 km] to the southeast (SE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than two hours, a buggy would take three full days and walking would take 6 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 700 miles [1,126.5 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take just about two full days, a buggy would take 28 days and walking would take 40 days.
  • The shortest distance<3> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,591 miles [10,607.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<4>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,302 miles [11,751.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,178 miles [8,333.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>'

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 from Point A (ie- Four Winds) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<2>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.
<3>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 Four Winds to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Four Winds. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 33.3501, Longitude: -87.5667       In this case, the coordinates for Four Winds have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<4>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 314.127 degrees.
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 309.785 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 310.64 degrees.