Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Valdawood, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Valdawood and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Valdawood
- 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 Valdawood:
- 33.368721, -86.763044
- 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 Valdawood
- 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 Shelby County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Shelby County
- Since Valdawood is near Jefferson County and also Blount County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Jefferson County
- eBird sighting report for Blount 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 Valdawood ...
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.
- Camp Horne
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Camp Horne have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Camp Horne
- Camp Horne is located in Jefferson County
- Cedar Crest
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cedar Crest have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Crest
- Cedar Crest is located in Jefferson County
- Chapel Hill
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Chapel Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chapel Hill
- Chapel Hill is located in Jefferson County
- Chestnut Ridge
(Less than 2 miles to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Chestnut Ridge have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chestnut Ridge
- Chestnut Ridge is located in Jefferson County
- Havenview
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north) - Heritage Oaks
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Heritage Oaks have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heritage Oaks
- Heritage Oaks is located in Shelby County
- Hickory Ridge
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hickory Ridge have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hickory Ridge
- Hickory Ridge is located in Shelby County
- Hoover
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hoover
- Hoover is located in Jefferson County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 85,959 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hoover <2>
- Indian Hills
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Indian Hills have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Hills
- Indian Hills is located in Shelby County
- Indian Springs Ranch
(Less than 2 miles to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Indian Springs Ranch have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Springs Ranch
- Indian Springs Ranch is located in Shelby County
- Indian Springs Village
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Indian Springs Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Springs Village
- Indian Springs Village is located in Shelby County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,628 people
- Indian Valley
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Indian Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Valley
- Indian Valley is located in Shelby County
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Ivy Chase
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west) - Ivy Glenn
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north) - Longleaf
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north) - Meadow Ridge
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Meadow Ridge have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadow Ridge
- Meadow Ridge is located in Shelby County
- Panorama
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest) - Polo Trace
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Polo Trace have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Polo Trace
- Polo Trace is located in Jefferson County
- Quail Run
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south) - Riverwood
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast) - Rocky Ridge
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rocky Ridge have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rocky Ridge
- Rocky Ridge is located in Jefferson County
- Sky Ranch
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest) - Sunnymeadows
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sunnymeadows have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunnymeadows
- Sunnymeadows is located in Shelby County
- Timber Ridge
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Timber Ridge have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Timber Ridge
- Timber Ridge is located in Jefferson County
- Valley Station
(Less than 2 miles to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Valley Station have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valley Station
- Valley Station is located in Shelby County
- Wine Ridge
(Less than 2 miles to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wine Ridge have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wine Ridge
- Wine Ridge is located in Jefferson County
- Ivy Chase
How Far From Valdawood 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 Valdawood to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<3> beginning in Valdawood and extending to:
- Columbiana, which is the Seat of Shelby County, lies 15 miles [24.1 km]<3> to the southeast. If you could walk a straight line from Valdawood to Columbiana, 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 73 miles [117.5 km] to the south southeast (SSE). 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 662 miles [1,065.4 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take just about two full days, a buggy would take 26 days and walking would take 38 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,557 miles [10,552.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,265 miles [11,691.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,141 miles [8,273.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Valdawood. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Shelby County: www.shelbycountyalabama.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 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Valdawood) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Valdawood. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 33.3687, Longitude: -86.7630 In this case, the coordinates for Valdawood 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 Valdawood 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 313.643 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 309.229 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 310.313 degrees. |