RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Alabama >> Chambers County >> Sikes >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).

When in Sikes, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Sikes and the surrounding area.

  • 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 Sikes:
    • 32.888737, -85.558564
    • 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.
    • Open the Heavens-Above website centered on Sikes
  • 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 Chambers County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Chambers County
    • Since Sikes is near Tallapoosa County and also Cherokee County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Tallapoosa County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Cherokee 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:
    • Open the Waymark.com report for Sikes

Communities Also Named Sikes ...

We found two communities that are also named Sikes.

Within Alabama, the name Sikes is unique.

Beyond Alabama, we know of two communities that are located in the United States.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Colorado
      • Fremont County
      • This Sikes is located in Fremont County and lies 1,154 miles [1,857.2 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Sikes that is located in Chambers County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Fremont County community of Sikes.
    • Louisiana
      • Winn Parish
      • This Sikes is located in Winn Parish and lies 407 miles [655 km]<1> to the west of the Sikes that is located in Chambers County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Winn Parish community of Sikes.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Sikes ...

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.

  • Buffalo
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Buffalo is located in Chambers County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buffalo
  • Everglade
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Everglade is located in Tallapoosa County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Everglade
  • Fredrick Ferry
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Fredrick Ferry is located in Tallapoosa County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fredrick Ferry
  • Germany Ferry
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Germany Ferry is located in Tallapoosa County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Germany Ferry
  • Jones Mill
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Jones Mill is located in Chambers County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jones Mill
  • Matilda
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Matilda is located in Tallapoosa County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Matilda
  • Matilda Ferry
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Matilda Ferry is located in Tallapoosa County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Matilda Ferry
  • New Harmony
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • New Harmony is located in Chambers County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Harmony
  • Persons Bridge ‑ Historic
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Persons Bridge is located in Tallapoosa County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Persons Bridge
  • Slaughters ‑ Historic
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Slaughters is located in Tallapoosa County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Slaughters
  • Tiller Crossroads
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Tiller Crossroads is located in Chambers County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tiller Crossroads
  • Union Hill
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Union Hill is located in Chambers County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union Hill

How Far From Sikes to ...

We spend a lot of time looking through Gazetteers & Almanacs that were published in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Many of the Gazetteers include the distance from a community such as Sikes to various places of note, such as the White House.

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Sikes and extending to:

  • LaFayette, which is the Seat of Chambers County, lies 9 miles [14.5 km]<1> to the east. If you could walk a straight line from Sikes to LaFayette, with an average speed<2> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take four to five hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take a little over three hours.
  • Montgomery, which is the State Capital of Alabama, lies 55 miles [88.5 km] to the southwest (SW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than an hour, a buggy would take over two days and walking would take most of three days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 631 miles [1,015.5 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take just over a day, a buggy would take 25 days and walking would take 36 days.
  • The shortest distance<3> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,529 miles [10,507.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<4>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,231 miles [11,637.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,110 miles [8,223.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>'

Footnotes ...

<1>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- Sikes) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<2>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.
<3>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 Sikes to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Sikes. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 32.8887, Longitude: -85.5586       In this case, the coordinates for Sikes have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<4>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 312.898 degrees.
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 308.301 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 309.941 degrees.