Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Old Bethel, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Old Bethel and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Old Bethel
- 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 Old Bethel:
- 34.581204, -87.523637
- 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 Old Bethel
- 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 Colbert County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Colbert County
- Since Old Bethel is near Lawrence County and also Franklin County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Lawrence County
- eBird sighting report for Franklin 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 Old Bethel ...
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.
- Cottontown
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cottontown have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cottontown
- Cottontown is located in Colbert County
- Edmond
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast) - Flat Rock
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast) - Hunter ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest) - Littleville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)- 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
- Mount Hope
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mount Hope have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Hope
- Mount Hope is located in Lawrence County
- Mountain Star
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)- 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
- Needmore
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south) - Oak Grove
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east) - Poplar Creek ‑ Historic
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Poplar Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poplar Creek
- Poplar Creek is located in Colbert County
- Section
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north) - Spring Valley
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Spring Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Valley
- Spring Valley is located in Colbert County
- Wolf Springs
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wolf Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wolf Springs
- Wolf Springs is located in Lawrence County
How Far From Old Bethel 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 Old Bethel to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<2> beginning in Old Bethel and extending to:
- Tuscumbia, which is the Seat of Colbert County, lies 14 miles [22.5 km]<2> to the northwest. If you could walk a straight line from Old Bethel to Tuscumbia, with an average speed<3> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take most of a day to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take four to five hours.
- Montgomery, which is the State Capital of Alabama, lies 167 miles [268.8 km] to the south southeast (SSE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take about three hours, a buggy would take 7 days and walking would take 10 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 651 miles [1,047.7 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take just over a day, a buggy would take 26 days and walking would take 37 days.
- The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,530 miles [10,509 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,245 miles [11,659.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,121 miles [8,241.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Old Bethel. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Colbert County: www.colbertcounty.org/
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 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Old Bethel) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Old Bethel. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 34.5812, Longitude: -87.5236 In this case, the coordinates for Old Bethel 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 Old Bethel 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 314.178 degrees. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 310.014 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 310.364 degrees. |