Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Hester Heights, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Hester Heights and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Hester Heights
- 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 Hester Heights:
- 34.543149, -87.708920
- 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 Hester Heights
- 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 Franklin County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Franklin County
- Since Hester Heights is near Colbert County and also Lawrence County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Colbert County
- eBird sighting report for Lawrence 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
Curious and Interesting Names Near Hester Heights ...
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.
- Crooked Oak
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Crooked Oak have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crooked Oak
- Crooked Oak is located in Colbert County
- Flatwoods
(5 miles [8 km] to the north) - Good Springs
(Less than 2 miles to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Good Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Good Springs
- Good Springs is located in Franklin County
- Gravel Hill
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gravel Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gravel Hill
- Gravel Hill is located in Franklin County
- Lime Rock
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest) - Littleville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Littleville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Littleville
- Littleville is located in Colbert County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 992 people
- Mountain Star
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mountain Star have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountain Star
- Mountain Star is located in Franklin County
- Pleasant Ridge
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pleasant Ridge have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Ridge
- Pleasant Ridge is located in Franklin County
- Reedtown
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest) - Waco
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast) - Woodlawn Heights
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Woodlawn Heights have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodlawn Heights
- Woodlawn Heights is located in Franklin County
How Far From Hester Heights to ...
We spend a lot of time looking through Gazetteers & Almanacs that were published in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Many of the Gazetteers include the distance from a community such as Hester Heights to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<2> beginning in Hester Heights and extending to:
- Russellville, which is the Seat of Franklin County, lies just to the South Southwest.
- Montgomery, which is the State Capital of Alabama, lies 170 miles [273.6 km]<2> to the south southeast (SSE). If you could drive a straight line from Hester Heights to Montgomery, with an average speed<3>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take about three hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 10 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 7 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 662 miles [1,065.4 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take just about two full days, a buggy would take 26 days and walking would take 38 days.
- The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,540 miles [10,525.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,255 miles [11,675.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,130 miles [8,255.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Hester Heights. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for State of Alabama: https://www.alabama.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 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Hester Heights) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Hester Heights. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 34.5431, Longitude: -87.7089 In this case, the coordinates for Hester Heights have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <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 Hester Heights 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 314.29 degrees. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 310.137 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 310.449 degrees. |