RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Alabama >> Jefferson County >> Hickory Ridge Estates >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Hickory Ridge Estates, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Hickory Ridge Estates and the surrounding area.

  • Weather ...
    • Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
    • The National Weather Service forecast for Hickory Ridge Estates
  • 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 Hickory Ridge Estates:
    • 33.423997, -86.754988
    • 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 Hickory Ridge Estates
  • 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 Jefferson County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Jefferson County
    • Since Hickory Ridge Estates is near Shelby County and also Blount County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Shelby County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Blount 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 Hickory Ridge Estates

Curious and Interesting Names Near Hickory Ridge Estates ...

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.

  • Camp Horne
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Camp Horne is located in Jefferson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Camp Horne
  • Cedar Crest
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Cedar Crest is located in Jefferson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Crest
  • Chestnut Ridge
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Chestnut Ridge is located in Jefferson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chestnut Ridge
  • Coventry
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Coventry is located in Jefferson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coventry
  • Havenview
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
    • Havenview is located in Jefferson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Havenview
  • Hidden Ridge
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Hidden Ridge is located in Jefferson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hidden Ridge
  • Ivy Glenn
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Ivy Glenn is located in Jefferson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ivy Glenn
  • Longleaf
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
    • Longleaf is located in Jefferson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Longleaf
  • Meadow Ridge
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Meadow Ridge is located in Shelby County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadow Ridge
  • Panorama
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Panorama is located in Jefferson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Panorama
  • Riverwood
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Riverwood is located in Shelby County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverwood
  • Rocky Bridge
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Rocky Bridge is located in Jefferson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rocky Bridge
  • Continue List   (8 more) ...
    • Rocky Ridge
      (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
      • Rocky Ridge is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rocky Ridge
    • Sky Ranch
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Sky Ranch is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sky Ranch
    • Tangle Creek
      (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
      • Tangle Creek is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tangle Creek
    • Tanglewood
      (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
      • Tanglewood is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tanglewood
    • Thornhill
      (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
      • Thornhill is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thornhill
    • Timber Ridge
      (Less than 2 miles to the west)
      • Timber Ridge is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Timber Ridge
    • Twin Bridge
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
      • Twin Bridge is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twin Bridge
    • Wine Ridge
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
      • Wine Ridge is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wine Ridge

How Far From Hickory Ridge Estates 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 Hickory Ridge Estates to various places of note, such as the White House.

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<1> beginning in Hickory Ridge Estates and extending to:

  • Birmingham, which is the Seat of Jefferson County, lies just to the North Northwest.
  • Montgomery, which is the State Capital of Alabama, lies 76 miles [122.3 km]<1> to the south southeast (SSE). If you could drive a straight line from Hickory Ridge Estates to Montgomery, with an average speed<2>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take less than two hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 5 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take most of three days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 659 miles [1,060.6 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take just about two full days, a buggy would take 26 days and walking would take 38 days.
  • The shortest distance<3> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,554 miles [10,547.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<4>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,262 miles [11,687.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,139 miles [8,270.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>'

Footnotes ...

<1>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Hickory Ridge Estates) 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 Hickory Ridge Estates 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 Hickory Ridge Estates. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 33.4240, Longitude: -86.7550       In this case, the coordinates for Hickory Ridge Estates have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<4>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 313.642 degrees.
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 309.235 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 310.298 degrees.