RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Alabama >> Saint Clair County >> Willinghams Ferry >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

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

  • Weather ...
  • 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 Willinghams Ferry:
    • 33.482329, -86.295533
    • 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 Willinghams Ferry
  • 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 Saint Clair County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Saint Clair County
    • Since Willinghams Ferry is near Talladega County and also Shelby County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Talladega County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Shelby 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 Willinghams Ferry

Curious and Interesting Names Near Willinghams Ferry ...

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.

  • Cloverdale
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Cloverdale is located in Shelby County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cloverdale
  • Enchanted Hills
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Enchanted Hills is located in Saint Clair County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Enchanted Hills
  • Fishtrap
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Fishtrap is located in Talladega County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fishtrap
  • Fountainrun ‑ Historic
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Fountainrun is located in Saint Clair County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fountainrun
  • Glen City
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Glen City is located in Saint Clair County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glen City
  • Hunting Ridge
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Hunting Ridge is located in Saint Clair County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hunting Ridge
  • Jonesview
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Jonesview is located in Talladega County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jonesview
  • Kings Chapel
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Kings Chapel is located in Talladega County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kings Chapel
  • Lakeview
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Lakeview is located in Saint Clair County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakeview
  • Mays Bend
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Mays Bend is located in Saint Clair County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mays Bend
  • Pine Orchard
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Pine Orchard is located in Saint Clair County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Orchard
  • Rocky Ridge
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Rocky Ridge is located in Talladega County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rocky Ridge
  • Wolf Creek
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Wolf Creek is located in Saint Clair County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wolf Creek

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

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

  • Ashville, which is the Seat of Saint Clair County, lies 24 miles [38.6 km]<1> to the north. If you could walk a straight line from Willinghams Ferry to Ashville, with an average speed<2> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take just about two full days to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take most of a day.
  • Montgomery, which is the State Capital of Alabama, lies 76 miles [122.3 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 5 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 636 miles [1,023.5 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<3> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,532 miles [10,512.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<4>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,239 miles [11,650 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,116 miles [8,233.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>'

Footnotes ...

<1>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Willinghams Ferry) 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 Willinghams Ferry 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 Willinghams Ferry. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 33.4823, Longitude: -86.2955       In this case, the coordinates for Willinghams Ferry have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<4>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 313.37 degrees.
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 308.929 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 310.102 degrees.