Outdoor Activities ...

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

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

• Weather ...
  • Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
  • The National Weather Service forecast for Sky Ball

• 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 Sky Ball:
  • 34.022043, -86.636104
  • 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 Sky Ball

• 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 Blount County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
  • Open the eBird sighting report for Blount County
  • Since Sky Ball is near Cullman County and also Jefferson County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
  • Open the eBird sighting report for Cullman County
  • Open the eBird sighting report for Jefferson 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 Sky Ball

Curious and Interesting Names Near Sky Ball ...

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.

• Blow Gourd
  (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Blow Gourd is located in Blount County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blow Gourd
• Five Points
  (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Five Points is located in Blount County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Five Points
• Fowler Spring
  (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
  • Fowler Spring is located in Blount County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fowler Spring
• Garden City
  (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Garden City is located in Cullman County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garden City
  • Population from the 2020 Census: 506 people
• Gum Springs
  (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Gum Springs is located in Blount County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gum Springs
• High Rock
  (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • High Rock is located in Blount County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for High Rock
• Joy
  (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
  • Joy is located in Blount County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Joy
• Mountain Grove
  (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Mountain Grove is located in Blount County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountain Grove
• Nectar
  (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Nectar is located in Blount County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nectar
  • Population from the 2020 Census: 344 people
• River Bend
  (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • River Bend is located in Cullman County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for River Bend
• Steppville
  (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Steppville is located in Cullman County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Steppville
• Sugar Creek
  (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Sugar Creek is located in Blount County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sugar Creek

How Far From Sky Ball 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 Sky Ball to various places of note, such as the White House.

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<1> beginning in Sky Ball and extending to:

• Oneonta, which is the Seat of Blount County, lies 10 miles [16.1 km]<1> to the east southeast. If you could walk a straight line from Sky Ball to Oneonta, 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 115 miles [185.1 km] to the south (S). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take about two hours, a buggy would take 5 days and walking would take 7 days.
• The White House (Washington, DC) is 629 miles [1,012.3 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 6,520 miles [10,492.9 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 5,107 miles [8,218.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>'