Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Idle Hour, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Idle Hour and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Idle Hour
- 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 Idle Hour:
- 38.022578, -84.459382
- 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 Idle Hour
- 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 Fayette County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Fayette County
- Since Idle Hour is near Jessamine County and also Clark County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Jessamine County
- eBird sighting report for Clark 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 Idle Hour ...
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.
- Blueberry Hill
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Blueberry Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blueberry Hill
- Blueberry Hill is located in Fayette County
- Chevy Chase
(Less than 2 miles to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Chevy Chase have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chevy Chase
- Chevy Chase is located in Fayette County
- Deep Springs
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deep Springs
- Deep Springs is located in Fayette County
- Elkhorn Parks
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Elkhorn Parks have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkhorn Parks
- Elkhorn Parks is located in Fayette County
- Fairway
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairway
- Fairway is located in Fayette County
- Gamesway
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest) - Garden Springs
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Garden Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garden Springs
- Garden Springs is located in Fayette County
- Gardenside
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gardenside have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gardenside
- Gardenside is located in Fayette County
- Hermitage Hills
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hermitage Hills have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hermitage Hills
- Hermitage Hills is located in Fayette County
- Jonestown
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest) - Liberty Heights
(Less than 2 miles to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Liberty Heights have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty Heights
- Liberty Heights is located in Fayette County
- Open Gates
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Open Gates have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Open Gates
- Open Gates is located in Fayette County
- Continue List (6 more) ...
- Pine Meadows
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pine Meadows have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Meadows
- Pine Meadows is located in Fayette County
- Rockwood
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north) - Shadeland
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west) - Stoneybrook
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Stoneybrook have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stoneybrook
- Stoneybrook is located in Fayette County
- Twin Oaks
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west) - Walnut Hill
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Walnut Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walnut Hill
- Walnut Hill is located in Fayette County
- Pine Meadows
How Far From Idle Hour to ...
We spend a lot of time looking through Gazetteers & Almanacs that were published in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Many of the Gazetteers include the distance from a community such as Idle Hour to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<2> beginning in Idle Hour and extending to:
- Lexington, which is the Seat of Fayette County, lies just to the Northwest.
- Frankfort, which is the State Capital of Kentucky, lies 25 miles [40.2 km]<2> to the west northwest (WNW). If you could walk a straight line from Idle Hour to Frankfort, with an average speed<3> 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.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 405 miles [651.8 km] to the east (E). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take most of a day, a buggy would take 16 days and walking would take 23 days.
- The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,243 miles [10,047.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,963 miles [11,205.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,838 miles [7,786 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Idle Hour. 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> | 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- Idle Hour) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Idle Hour. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 38.0226, Longitude: -84.4594 In this case, the coordinates for Idle Hour have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <3> | 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. |
| <4> | 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 Idle Hour to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <5> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 312.398 degrees. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 308.451 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 308.193 degrees. |