RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of North Carolina >> Transylvania County >> Balsam Grove >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

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

  • Weather ...
  • 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 Balsam Grove:
    • 35.229814, -82.873763
    • 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 Balsam Grove
  • 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 Transylvania County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Transylvania County
    • Since Balsam Grove is near Jackson County and also Haywood County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Jackson County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Haywood 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 Balsam Grove

Communities Also Named Balsam Grove ...

We found one communities that are also named Balsam Grove.

Within North Carolina, the name Balsam Grove is unique.

Beyond North Carolina, there is another community also named Balsam Grove in Canada.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Ontario
      • This Balsam Grove lies 707 miles [1,137.8 km]<1> to the north northeast of the Balsam Grove that is located in Transylvania County.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Balsam Grove ...

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.

  • Bear Wallow Hollow
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Bear Wallow Hollow is located in Transylvania County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bear Wallow Hollow
  • Cherryfield
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Cherryfield is located in Transylvania County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherryfield
  • Ducktown
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Ducktown is located in Transylvania County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ducktown
  • Fox Ridge
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Fox Ridge is located in Transylvania County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fox Ridge
  • Island Ford
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Island Ford is located in Jackson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Island Ford
  • Knob Creek
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Knob Creek is located in Transylvania County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knob Creek
  • Knob Hill
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Knob Hill is located in Transylvania County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knob Hill
  • Line Runner Ridge
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Line Runner Ridge is located in Transylvania County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Line Runner Ridge
  • Mountain View
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Mountain View is located in Transylvania County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountain View
  • Piney Woods
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Piney Woods is located in Transylvania County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Piney Woods
  • Ridge Haven
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Ridge Haven is located in Transylvania County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ridge Haven
  • Rocky Hill
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Rocky Hill is located in Transylvania County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rocky Hill
  • Wolf Mountain
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Wolf Mountain is located in Jackson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wolf Mountain
  • Wolf Ridge
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Wolf Ridge is located in Transylvania County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wolf Ridge

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

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Balsam Grove and extending to:

  • Brevard, which is the Seat of Transylvania County, lies just to the East.
  • Raleigh, which is the State Capital of North Carolina, lies 240 miles [386.2 km]<1> to the east (E). If you could drive a straight line from Balsam Grove to Raleigh, with an average speed<2>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take nearly four hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 14 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 10 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 409 miles [658.2 km] to the northeast (NE). 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 6,306 miles [10,148.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<4>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,011 miles [11,283.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,888 miles [7,866.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>'

Footnotes ...

<1>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- Balsam Grove) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<2>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.
<3>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 Balsam Grove to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Balsam Grove. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 35.2298, Longitude: -82.8738    
<4>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 311.407 degrees.
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 306.913 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 308.307 degrees.