Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Shepherdtown, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Shepherdtown and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Shepherdtown
- 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 Shepherdtown:
- 37.287033, -83.864924
- 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 Shepherdtown
- 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 Clay County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Clay County
- Since Shepherdtown is near Jackson County and also Laurel County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Jackson 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 Shepherdtown ...
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.
- Burning Springs
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Burning Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burning Springs
- Burning Springs is located in Clay County
- Chestnutburg
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Chestnutburg have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chestnutburg
- Chestnutburg is located in Clay County
- Egypt
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest) - Green Hill
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Green Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Hill
- Green Hill is located in Jackson County
- Herd
(5 miles [8 km] to the north) - High Knob
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west) - Lewis
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west) - Mildred
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest) - Sourwood
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast) - Stringtown
(Less than 2 miles to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Stringtown have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stringtown
- Stringtown is located in Jackson County
- Union
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast) - Vine
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
How Far From Shepherdtown 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 Shepherdtown to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<2> beginning in Shepherdtown and extending to:
- Manchester, which is the Seat of Clay County, lies 11 miles [17.7 km]<2> to the south southeast. If you could walk a straight line from Shepherdtown to Manchester, with an average speed<3> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take five to six hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take nearly four hours.
- Frankfort, which is the State Capital of Kentucky, lies 83 miles [133.6 km] to the northwest (NW). 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 387 miles [622.8 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take most of a day, a buggy would take 16 days and walking would take 22 days.
- The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,253 miles [10,063.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,969 miles [11,215.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,844 miles [7,795.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Shepherdtown. 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 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Shepherdtown) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Shepherdtown. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 37.2870, Longitude: -83.8649 In this case, the coordinates for Shepherdtown 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 Shepherdtown 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 312.028 degrees. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 307.921 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 308.145 degrees. |