Outdoor Activities ...

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

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

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

• 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 Pongo:
  • 37.222584, -84.322992
  • 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 Pongo

• 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:
  • Open the eBird sighting report for Rockcastle County
  • Since Pongo is near Laurel County and also Pulaski County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
  • Open the eBird sighting report for Laurel County
  • Open the eBird sighting report for Pulaski 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 Pongo

Curious and Interesting Names Near Pongo ...

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
  (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Acorn is located in Pulaski County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Acorn
• Burr
  (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
  • Burr is located in Rockcastle County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burr
• Hazel Patch
  (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • Hazel Patch is located in Laurel County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hazel Patch
• Level Green
  (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Level Green is located in Rockcastle County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Level Green
• Plato
  (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Plato is located in Pulaski County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plato
• Sand Springs
  (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Sand Springs is located in Rockcastle County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sand Springs
• Sandy Gap
  (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Sandy Gap is located in Pulaski County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandy Gap
• Sinking Valley
  (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Sinking Valley is located in Pulaski County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sinking Valley
• Stab
  (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Stab is located in Pulaski County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stab
• Valley Oak
  (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
  • Valley Oak is located in Pulaski County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valley Oak
• Walnut Grove
  (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Walnut Grove is located in Pulaski County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walnut Grove

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

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

• Mount Vernon, which is the Seat of Rockcastle County, lies 9 miles [14.5 km]<1> to the north. If you could walk a straight line from Pongo to Mount Vernon, with an average speed<2> 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 412 miles [663 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take most of a day, a buggy would take 16 days and walking would take 24 days.
• The shortest distance<3> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,275 miles [10,098.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<4>
• The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,991 miles [11,250.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
• The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,866 miles [7,831.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>'