Outdoor Activities ...

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

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

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

• 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 Vanns:
  • 33.662602, -86.595265
  • 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 Vanns

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

Curious and Interesting Names Near Vanns ...

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.

• Arrowhead
  (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Arrowhead is located in Jefferson County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arrowhead
• Chalkville
  (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • Chalkville is located in Jefferson County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chalkville
• Clay
  (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
  • Clay is located in Jefferson County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clay
  • Estimated population in 2015: 9,655 people
  • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Clay <1>
• Cotton Ridge
  (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
  • Cotton Ridge is located in Jefferson County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cotton Ridge
• Dale ‑ Historic
  (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Dale is located in Blount County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dale
• Eagle Ridge
  (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Eagle Ridge is located in Jefferson County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eagle Ridge
• Echo Hills
  (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
  • Echo Hills is located in Jefferson County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Echo Hills
• Rolling Hills
  (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
  • Rolling Hills is located in Jefferson County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rolling Hills
• Roper
  (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Roper is located in Jefferson County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roper
• Saddlewood
  (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
  • Saddlewood is located in Jefferson County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saddlewood
• Sunnyside
  (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  • Sunnyside is located in Jefferson County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunnyside

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

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<2> beginning in Vanns and extending to:

• Birmingham, which is the Seat of Jefferson County, lies 15 miles [24.1 km]<2> to the southwest. If you could walk a straight line from Vanns to Birmingham, with an average speed<3> 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 90 miles [144.8 km] to the south (S). 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 6 days.
• The White House (Washington, DC) is 642 miles [1,033.2 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take just over a day, a buggy would take 25 days and walking would take 37 days.
• The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,536 miles [10,518.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
• The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,245 miles [11,659.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
• The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,121 miles [8,241.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>'