Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Valley Oak, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Valley Oak and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Valley Oak
- 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 Valley Oak:
- 37.189248, -84.472162
- 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 Valley Oak
- 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 Pulaski County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Pulaski County
- Since Valley Oak is near Rockcastle County and also Laurel County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Rockcastle 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 Valley Oak ...
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 southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Acorn
- Acorn is located in Pulaski County
- Bobtown
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest) - Coin
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest) - Drum
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south) - Level Green
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)- 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
- Mark
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest) - Piney Grove
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Piney Grove
- Piney Grove is located in Pulaski County
- Plato
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast) - Shopville
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shopville
- Shopville is located in Pulaski County
- Sinking Valley
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)- 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
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast) - Sugar Hill
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sugar Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sugar Hill
- Sugar Hill is located in Pulaski County
- Walnut Grove
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Walnut Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walnut Grove
- Walnut Grove is located in Pulaski County
How Far From Valley Oak 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 Valley Oak to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<2> beginning in Valley Oak and extending to:
- Somerset, which is the Seat of Pulaski County, lies 9 miles [14.5 km]<2> to the southwest. If you could walk a straight line from Valley Oak to Somerset, with an average speed<3> 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 421 miles [677.5 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<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,282 miles [10,109.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,999 miles [11,263.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,874 miles [7,843.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Valley Oak. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Pulaski County: www.pulaskicountygovt.org/
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- Valley Oak) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Valley Oak. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 37.1892, Longitude: -84.4722 In this case, the coordinates for Valley Oak 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 Valley Oak 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 308.332 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 308.433 degrees. |