Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Normal, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Normal and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Normal
- 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 Normal:
- 34.788979, -86.571937
- 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 Normal
- 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 Madison County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Madison County
- Since Normal is near Limestone County and also Morgan County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Limestone County
- eBird sighting report for Morgan 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 Normal ...
We found seven communities that share the name Normal.
Within Alabama, the name Normal is unique.
Beyond Alabama, we know of another seven communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Kentucky
- Boyd County
- This Normal is located in Boyd County and lies 334 miles [537.5 km]<1> to the northeast of the Normal that is located in Madison County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Boyd County community of Normal.
- Calloway 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 Normal [Calloway County].
- Pennsylvania
- Tennessee
- Virginia
Curious and Interesting Names Near Normal ...
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.
- Cedar Valley
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cedar Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Valley
- Cedar Valley is located in Madison County
- Chase
(Less than 2 miles to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chase
- Chase is located in Madison County
- Cherokee Hills
(Less than 2 miles to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cherokee Hills have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherokee Hills
- Cherokee Hills is located in Madison County
- Cherry Creek
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cherry Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherry Creek
- Cherry Creek is located in Madison County
- Darwin Downs
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Darwin Downs have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Darwin Downs
- Darwin Downs is located in Madison County
- Glen Park
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest) - Greenhill
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest) - Lincoln
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south) - Meadow Hills
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Meadow Hills have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadow Hills
- Meadow Hills is located in Madison County
- Continue List (6 more) ...
- Mercury
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mercury
- Mercury is located in Madison County
- Rolling Meadows
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rolling Meadows have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rolling Meadows
- Rolling Meadows is located in Madison County
- Scenic View
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Scenic View have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scenic View
- Scenic View is located in Madison County
- Shady Lane
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shady Lane have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shady Lane
- Shady Lane is located in Madison County
- Stag Run
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west) - Valley Park
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Valley Park have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valley Park
- Valley Park is located in Madison County
- Mercury
How Far From Normal to ...
We spend a lot of time looking through Gazetteers that were published in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Many of the Gazetteers include the distance from a community such as Normal to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Normal and extending to:
- Huntsville, which is the Seat of Madison County, lies just to the South Southwest.
- Montgomery, which is the State Capital of Alabama, lies 167 miles [268.8 km]<1> to the south (S). If you could drive a straight line from Normal to Montgomery, with an average speed<4>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 597 miles [960.8 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take just over a day, a buggy would take 24 days and walking would take 34 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,481 miles [10,430.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,194 miles [11,577.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,070 miles [8,159.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Normal. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Madison County: www.co.madison.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 '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- Normal) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Normal. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 34.7890, Longitude: -86.5719 In this case, the coordinates for Normal 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 Normal 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> | 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. |
| <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 Normal 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 313.607 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 309.384 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 309.922 degrees. |