Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Tacon, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Tacon and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Tacon
- 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 Tacon:
- 30.687968, -88.104723
- 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 Tacon
- 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 Mobile County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Mobile County
- Since Tacon is near Baldwin County and also Jackson County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Baldwin County
- eBird sighting report for Jackson 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 Tacon ...
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.
- Chickasaw
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Chickasaw have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chickasaw
- Chickasaw is located in Mobile County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 5,659 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Chickasaw <2>
- Cottage Hill
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cottage Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cottage Hill
- Cottage Hill is located in Mobile County
- Deerwood
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest) - Edgefield
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest) - Eight Mile
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Eight Mile have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eight Mile
- Eight Mile is located in Mobile County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Eight Mile <2>
- Forest Park
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Forest Park have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest Park
- Forest Park is located in Mobile County
- Gulf Dale
(5 miles [8 km] to the south) - Lloyds
(5 miles [8 km] to the south) - Magazine
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast) - Park Forest
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Park Forest have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Park Forest
- Park Forest is located in Mobile County
- Plateau
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast) - Regency
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest) - Continue List (6 more) ...
- Spring Valley
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Spring Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Valley
- Spring Valley is located in Mobile County
- Sugar Creek
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sugar Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sugar Creek
- Sugar Creek is located in Mobile County
- Summerville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Summerville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summerville
- Summerville is located in Mobile County
- Sunset Ranch
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sunset Ranch have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunset Ranch
- Sunset Ranch is located in Mobile County
- Timbers
(5 miles [8 km] to the west) - Whistler
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Spring Valley
How Far From Tacon 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 Tacon to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<3> beginning in Tacon and extending to:
- Mobile, which is the Seat of Mobile County, lies just to the East.
- Montgomery, which is the State Capital of Alabama, lies 157 miles [252.7 km]<3> to the northeast (NE). If you could drive a straight line from Tacon to Montgomery, with an average speed<4>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take less than three hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 9 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 7 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 844 miles [1,358.3 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take just about two full days, a buggy would take 33 days and walking would take 48 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,742 miles [10,850.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,443 miles [11,978.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,322 miles [8,564.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Tacon. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Mobile County: www.mobilecounty.org/
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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Tacon) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Tacon. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 30.6880, Longitude: -88.1047 In this case, the coordinates for Tacon 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 Tacon 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 314.229 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 309.54 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 311.35 degrees. |