Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Monte Bello, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Monte Bello and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Monte Bello
- 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 Monte Bello:
- 33.162339, -86.819988
- 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 Monte Bello
- 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:
- eBird sighting report for Shelby County
- Since Monte Bello is near Chilton County and also Bibb County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Chilton County
- 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:
- Waymark.com
Curious and Interesting Names Near Monte Bello ...
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
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Alabaster have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alabaster
- Alabaster is located in Shelby County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 33,701 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Alabaster <2>
- Dry Valley
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dry Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dry Valley
- Dry Valley is located in Shelby County
- Elliotsville
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Elliotsville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elliotsville
- Elliotsville is located in Shelby County
- Glen Forest
(Less than 2 miles to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Glen Forest have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glen Forest
- Glen Forest is located in Shelby County
- Ivanhoe
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east) - Longview
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast) - Meadow Green
(Less than 2 miles to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Meadow Green have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadow Green
- Meadow Green is located in Shelby County
- Mission Hills
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mission Hills have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mission Hills
- Mission Hills is located in Shelby County
- Roberta
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south) - Stems
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast) - Valley Junction
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Valley Junction have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valley Junction
- Valley Junction is located in Shelby County
- Willow Glen
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Willow Glen have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willow Glen
- Willow Glen is located in Shelby County
How Far From Monte Bello 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 Monte Bello to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<3> beginning in Monte Bello and extending to:
- Columbiana, which is the Seat of Shelby County, lies 12 miles [19.3 km]<3> to the east. If you could walk a straight line from Monte Bello to Columbiana, with an average speed<4> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take five to six hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take nearly four hours.
- Montgomery, which is the State Capital of Alabama, lies 62 miles [99.8 km] to the south southeast (SSE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than an hour, a buggy would take about three full days and walking would take most of three days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 674 miles [1,084.7 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take just about two full days, a buggy would take 27 days and walking would take 39 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,569 miles [10,571.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,276 miles [11,709.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,153 miles [8,292.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Monte Bello. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Shelby County: www.shelbycountyalabama.com/
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> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <3> | 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 from Point A (ie- Monte Bello) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Monte Bello. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 33.1623, Longitude: -86.8200 In this case, the coordinates for Monte Bello have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <4> | 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. |
| <5> | 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 Monte Bello to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 313.664 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 309.225 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 310.379 degrees. |