Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Bloss, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Bloss and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Bloss
- 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 Bloss:
- 37.216472, -84.359938
- 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 Bloss
- 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 Rockcastle County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Rockcastle County
- Since Bloss is near Pulaski County and also Laurel County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Pulaski County
- eBird sighting report for Laurel 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 Bloss ...
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.
- Acorn
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Acorn
- Acorn is located in Pulaski County
- Level Green
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Level Green have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Level Green
- Level Green is located in Rockcastle County
- Plato
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west) - Sand Springs
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sand Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sand Springs
- Sand Springs is located in Rockcastle County
- Sandy Gap
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south) - Sinking Valley
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sinking Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sinking Valley
- Sinking Valley is located in Pulaski County
- Stab
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest) - Valley Oak
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Valley Oak have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valley Oak
- Valley Oak is located in Pulaski County
- Walnut Grove
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Walnut Grove. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walnut Grove
- Walnut Grove is located in Pulaski County
How Far From Bloss 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 Bloss to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<3> beginning in Bloss and extending to:
- Mount Vernon, which is the Seat of Rockcastle County, lies 9 miles [14.5 km]<3> to the north. If you could walk a straight line from Bloss to Mount Vernon, with an average speed<4> 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.
- Frankfort, which is the State Capital of Kentucky, lies 73 miles [117.5 km] to the north northwest (NNW). 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 414 miles [666.3 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take most of a day, a buggy would take 17 days and walking would take 24 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,277 miles [10,101.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,993 miles [11,254.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,868 miles [7,834.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Bloss. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for State of Kentucky: https://kentucky.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> | An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace. |
| <3> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Bloss) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Bloss. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 37.2165, Longitude: -84.3599 In this case, the coordinates for Bloss 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 Bloss 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 312.33 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 308.257 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 308.377 degrees. |