Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Searles, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Searles and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Searles
- 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 Searles:
- 33.324282, -87.321667
- 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 Searles
- 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 Tuscaloosa County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Tuscaloosa County
- Since Searles is near Jefferson County and also Bibb County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Jefferson 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
Communities Also Named Searles ...
We found three communities that share the name Searles.
Within Alabama, the name Searles is unique.
Beyond Alabama, we know of another three communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- California
- Minnesota
- Ohio
Curious and Interesting Names Near Searles ...
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.
- Bull City
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast) - Caffee Junction
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Caffee Junction have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caffee Junction
- Caffee Junction is located in Tuscaloosa County
- Cedar Cove
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cedar Cove have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Cove
- Cedar Cove is located in Tuscaloosa County
- Chambers
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast) - Cherrywood
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cherrywood have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherrywood
- Cherrywood is located in Tuscaloosa County
- Cottondale
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cottondale have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cottondale
- Cottondale is located in Tuscaloosa County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cottondale <4>
- Deep Wood
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest) - Elm Ridge
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest) - Fleetwood
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest) - Hillview
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest) - Hurricane Hills
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hurricane Hills have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hurricane Hills
- Hurricane Hills is located in Tuscaloosa County
- Lake View
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east) - Continue List (6 more) ...
- Mariners Cove
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mariners Cove have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mariners Cove
- Mariners Cove is located in Tuscaloosa County
- Mud Creek
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast) - Old Mill Trace
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Old Mill Trace have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Mill Trace
- Old Mill Trace is located in Tuscaloosa County
- Providence
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Providence have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Providence
- Providence is located in Jefferson County
- Wood Village
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wood Village have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wood Village
- Wood Village is located in Tuscaloosa County
- Yacht Club Bay
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Yacht Club Bay have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yacht Club Bay
- Yacht Club Bay is located in Tuscaloosa County
- Mariners Cove
How Far From Searles 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 Searles to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Searles and extending to:
- Tuscaloosa, which is the Seat of Tuscaloosa County, lies 15 miles [24.1 km]<1> to the west southwest. If you could walk a straight line from Searles to Tuscaloosa, with an average speed<5> 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 88 miles [141.6 km] to the southeast (SE). 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 690 miles [1,110.4 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take just about two full days, a buggy would take 27 days and walking would take 40 days.
- The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,582 miles [10,592.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,292 miles [11,735.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,168 miles [8,317.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Searles. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Tuscaloosa County: www.co.tuscaloosa.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' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Searles) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Searles. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 33.3243, Longitude: -87.3217 In this case, the coordinates for Searles have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <2> | 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 Searles, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <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're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <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 Searles 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 313.977 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 309.608 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 310.546 degrees. |