Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Parsons, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Parsons and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Parsons
- 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 Parsons:
- 33.628407, -86.500938
- 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 Parsons
- 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 Saint Clair County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Saint Clair County
- Since Parsons is near Jefferson County and also Blount County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Jefferson County
- 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:
- Waymark.com
Communities Also Named Parsons ...
We found fifteen communities that share the name Parsons.
Within Alabama, the name Parsons is unique.
Beyond Alabama, we know of another fifteen communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- California
- Idaho
- Kansas
- Maine
- Maryland
- Michigan
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- New Mexico
- Pennsylvania
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Kerr County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<1> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Texas community of Parsons [Kerr County].
- Parker County
- This community is historic<3> and although located in Parker County, we don't know where within the county.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Parker County community of Parsons.
- West Virginia
Curious and Interesting Names Near Parsons ...
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.
- Braggsville
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Braggsville have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Braggsville
- Braggsville is located in Saint Clair County
- Copper Springs
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Copper Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Copper Springs
- Copper Springs is located in Saint Clair County
- Cotton Ridge
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cotton Ridge have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cotton Ridge
- Cotton Ridge is located in Jefferson County
- Heritage Park
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Heritage Park have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heritage Park
- Heritage Park is located in Saint Clair County
- Hundred Oaks
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hundred Oaks have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hundred Oaks
- Hundred Oaks is located in Saint Clair County
- Margaret
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Margaret have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Margaret
- Margaret is located in Saint Clair County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 5,287 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Margaret <5>
- Misty Pines
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Misty Pines have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Misty Pines
- Misty Pines is located in Saint Clair County
- Moody
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moody
- Moody is located in Saint Clair County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 13,292 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Moody <5>
- Rolling Hills
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rolling Hills have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rolling Hills
- Rolling Hills is located in Jefferson County
- Roper
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west) - Saddlewood
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Saddlewood have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saddlewood
- Saddlewood is located in Jefferson County
- Woodland Village
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Woodland Village have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodland Village
- Woodland Village is located in Saint Clair County
How Far From Parsons 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 Parsons to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Parsons and extending to:
- Ashville, which is the Seat of Saint Clair County, lies 19 miles [30.6 km]<2> to the northeast. If you could walk a straight line from Parsons to Ashville, with an average speed<6> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take just over a day to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 6 hours.
- Montgomery, which is the State Capital of Alabama, lies 87 miles [140 km] to the south (S). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than two hours, a buggy would take most of three days and walking would take 5 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 639 miles [1,028.4 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take just over a day, a buggy would take 25 days and walking would take 37 days.
- The shortest distance<7> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,534 miles [10,515.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,242 miles [11,654.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,118 miles [8,236.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<10>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Parsons. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Saint Clair County: www.stclairco.com/
The official website for State of Alabama: https://www.alabama.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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 Rock Creek to see Pete ... Rock 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 Parsons 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. |
| <2> | 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 from Point A (ie- Parsons) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Parsons. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 33.6284, Longitude: -86.5009 In this case, the coordinates for Parsons have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <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 Parsons, 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're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <6> | 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. |
| <7> | 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 Parsons to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 313.502 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 309.101 degrees. |
| <10> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 310.152 degrees. |