Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Shorter, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Shorter and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Shorter
- 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 Shorter:
- 32.400467, -85.938612
- 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 Shorter
- 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 Macon County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Macon County
- Since Shorter is near Elmore County and also Montgomery County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Elmore County
- eBird sighting report for Montgomery 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 Shorter ...
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.
- Buckville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast) - Cecil
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cecil
- Cecil is located in Montgomery County
- Cross Keys
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cross Keys have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cross Keys
- Cross Keys is located in Macon County
- Franklin
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Franklin have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Franklin
- Franklin is located in Macon County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 512 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Franklin <2>
- Freeport
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest) - Friendship
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Friendship have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Friendship
- Friendship is located in Elmore County
- Hardaway
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast) - Jordanville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Jordanville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jordanville
- Jordanville is located in Elmore County
- Liberty
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest) - Liverpool
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east) - London
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest) - Merry
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest) - Mitchell
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mitchell
- Mitchell is located in Bullock County
How Far From Shorter 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 town such as Shorter to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<3> beginning in Shorter and extending to:
- Tuskegee, which is the Seat of Macon County, lies 14 miles [22.5 km]<3> to the east. If you could walk a straight line from Shorter to Tuskegee, with an average speed<4> 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 21 miles [33.8 km] to the west (W). The buggy would take most of a day and walking would take just over a day.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 670 miles [1,078.3 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take just about two full days, a buggy would take 27 days and walking would take 38 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,568 miles [10,570.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,270 miles [11,699.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,148 miles [8,284.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Shorter: www.shorteralabama.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 'straight-line' (or 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- Shorter) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Shorter. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 32.4005, Longitude: -85.9386 In this case, the coordinates for Shorter 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 Shorter 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 313.092 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 308.457 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 310.194 degrees. |