Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Joy, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Joy and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Joy
- 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 Joy:
- 34.033431, -86.616659
- 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 Joy
- 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 Blount County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Blount County
- Since Joy is near Cullman County and also Etowah County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Cullman County
- eBird sighting report for Etowah 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 Joy ...
We found 23 communities that share the name Joy.
Within Alabama, the name Joy is unique.
Beyond Alabama, we know of another 23 communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Arkansas
- Illinois
- Kansas
- Kiowa County
- This Joy is located in Kiowa County and lies 755 miles [1,215.1 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Joy that is located in Blount County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Kiowa County community of Joy.
- Lyon County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<2> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Kansas community of Joy [Lyon County].
- Kentucky
- Livingston County
- This Joy is located in Livingston County and lies 249 miles [400.7 km]<1> to the north northwest of the Joy that is located in Blount County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Livingston County community of Joy.
- Perry County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<2> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Kentucky community of Joy [Perry County].
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Missouri
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- New York
- North Carolina
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Murray County
- This Joy is located in Murray County and lies 601 miles [967.2 km]<1> to the west of the Joy that is located in Blount County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Murray County community of Joy.
- Oklahoma County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<2> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Oklahoma community of Joy [Oklahoma County].
- Oregon
- South Carolina
- Texas
- Clay County
- This Joy is located in Clay County and lies 665 miles [1,070.2 km]<1> to the west of the Joy that is located in Blount County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Clay County community of Joy.
- Smith County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<2> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Texas community of Joy [Smith County].
- Utah
- Washington
- West Virginia
Curious and Interesting Names Near Joy ...
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.
- Blow Gourd
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Blow Gourd have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blow Gourd
- Blow Gourd is located in Blount County
- Five Points
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Five Points have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Five Points
- Five Points is located in Blount County
- Fowler Spring
(Less than 2 miles to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fowler Spring have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fowler Spring
- Fowler Spring is located in Blount County
- Garden City
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garden City
- Garden City is located in Cullman County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 506 people
- Gum Springs
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gum Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gum Springs
- Gum Springs is located in Blount County
- High Rock
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest) - Liberty
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast) - Mountain Grove
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mountain Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountain Grove
- Mountain Grove is located in Blount County
- Murphy Ford
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Murphy Ford have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Murphy Ford
- Murphy Ford is located in Blount County
- Continue List (6 more) ...
- Nectar
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south) - River Bend
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for River Bend have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for River Bend
- River Bend is located in Cullman County
- Royal
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast) - Sky Ball
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest) - Steppville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Steppville have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Steppville
- Steppville is located in Cullman County
- Sugar Creek
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sugar Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sugar Creek
- Sugar Creek is located in Blount County
- Nectar
How Far From Joy 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 Joy to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Joy and extending to:
- Oneonta, which is the Seat of Blount County, lies 10 miles [16.1 km]<1> to the southeast. If you could walk a straight line from Joy to Oneonta, with an average speed<5> 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 115 miles [185.1 km] to the south (S). 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 628 miles [1,010.7 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take just over a day, a buggy would take 25 days and walking would take 36 days.
- The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,519 miles [10,491.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,229 miles [11,633.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,105 miles [8,215.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Joy. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Blount County: www.co.blount.al.us/
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' (or 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- Joy) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Joy. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 34.0334, Longitude: -86.6167 In this case, the coordinates for Joy have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <2> | If we encounter the name of what might be a community, our methodology is to add that name to our Gazetteer as a placeholder. As we find more information about that community, it will be added to our Gazetteer. Just as a reminder: Our definition of a community is rather broad and includes those places (or areas) where several families lived and had a name which identified that place. For example, you might hear somebody say that they are going over to Bird Creek to see Pete ... Bird Creek is just a gas station and a couple of homes at the crossroads. While it might not be on the map, everybody in the area knows it by that name. Places of interest include buildings at a crossroad, several families clustered in a hollow or maybe the location of a way station. It also includes places like mines, lumber camps, ferry crossings, etc. The community might still exist, is now gone or only existed for just a short period of time. Also keep in mind that Joy could have been on the original document by mistake, misspelled, the original/alternate name of a community that we've listed elsewhere or was placed in the wrong county. Sometimes a post office or train station would have a different name than the community where it's located, so two names might be referring to the same community - we're working to straighten it all out. |
| <3> | We use the term 'Historic' broadly and it generally means that the community no longer exists. However, it can also mean that the community might still exist, but was significantly larger or had a more 'official' existence in the past than it does now. Unfortunately our sources of data have proven to be unreliable. If you can provide us with more specific information about Joy, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | 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. |
| <5> | 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. |
| <6> | 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 Joy to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 313.595 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 309.265 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 310.11 degrees. |