Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Normal, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Normal and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Normal
- 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 Normal:
- 38.442264, -82.611502
- 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 Normal
- 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 Boyd County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Boyd County
- Since Normal is near Lawrence County and also Wayne County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Lawrence County
- eBird sighting report for Wayne 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
Communities Also Named Normal ...
We found seven communities that share the name Normal.
There is one other community in Kentucky which is also named Normal.
Beyond Kentucky, we know of another six communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Located In Kentucky ...
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Alabama
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Pennsylvania
- Tennessee
- Virginia
Curious and Interesting Names Near Normal ...
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.
- Big Sandy Junction
(Less than 2 miles to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Big Sandy Junction have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Sandy Junction
- Big Sandy Junction is located in Boyd County
- Clearview
(Less than 2 miles to the east) - Coal Grove
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Coal Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coal Grove
- Coal Grove is located in Lawrence County (OH)
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,048 people
- Forestdale
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Forestdale have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forestdale
- Forestdale is located in Lawrence County (OH)
- Geigers Crossing
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Geigers Crossing have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Geigers Crossing
- Geigers Crossing is located in Boyd County
- Glenroy
(5 miles [8 km] to the east) - Ironville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west) - Lincoln Park
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lincoln Park have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lincoln Park
- Lincoln Park is located in Lawrence County (OH)
- Lockdale
(5 miles [8 km] to the east) - Meads
(5 miles [8 km] to the west) - Neal
(5 miles [8 km] to the south) - Sulphur Springs
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sulphur Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sulphur Springs
- Sulphur Springs is located in Lawrence County (OH)
- Continue List (5 more) ...
- Sunrise
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast) - Sweet Run
(5 miles [8 km] to the south) - Three Oaks
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Three Oaks have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Three Oaks
- Three Oaks is located in Lawrence County (OH)
- Walnut Park
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Walnut Park have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walnut Park
- Walnut Park is located in Lawrence County (OH)
- Willowvale
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Willowvale have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willowvale
- Willowvale is located in Lawrence County (OH)
- Sunrise
How Far From Normal 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 Normal to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Normal and extending to:
- Catlettsburg, which is the Seat of Boyd County, lies just to the South Southeast.
- Frankfort, which is the State Capital of Kentucky, lies 123 miles [197.9 km]<2> to the west (W). If you could drive a straight line from Normal to Frankfort, with an average speed<4>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take about two hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 7 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 5 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 302 miles [486 km] to the east (E). Driving would take five to six hours, a buggy would take 12 days and walking would take 18 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,149 miles [9,895.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,866 miles [11,049.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,741 miles [7,629.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Normal. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for State of Kentucky: https://kentucky.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | If we encounter the name of what might be a community, our methodology is to add that name to our Gazetteer as a placeholder. As we find more information about that community, it will be added to our Gazetteer. Just as a reminder: Our definition of a community is rather broad and includes those places (or areas) where several families lived and had a name which identified that place. For example, you might hear somebody say that they are going over to Rock Creek to see Pete ... Rock Creek is just a gas station and a couple of homes at the crossroads. While it might not be on the map, everybody in the area knows it by that name. Places of interest include buildings at a crossroad, several families clustered in a hollow or maybe the location of a way station. It also includes places like mines, lumber camps, ferry crossings, etc. The community might still exist, is now gone or only existed for just a short period of time. Also keep in mind that Normal could have been on the original document by mistake, misspelled, the original/alternate name of a community that we've listed elsewhere or was placed in the wrong county. Sometimes a post office or train station would have a different name than the community where it's located, so two names might be referring to the same community - we're working to straighten it all out. |
| <2> | 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 drawn from Point A (ie- Normal) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Normal. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 38.4423, Longitude: -82.6115 In this case, the coordinates for Normal have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <3> | 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. |
| <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 Normal 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 311.257 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 307.207 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 307.259 degrees. |