Outdoor Activities ...

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

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

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

• 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 Banoak:
  • 35.586244, -81.408976
  • 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 Banoak

• 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 Catawba County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
  • Open the eBird sighting report for Catawba County
  • Since Banoak is near Lincoln County and also Cleveland County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
  • Open the eBird sighting report for Lincoln County
  • Open the eBird sighting report for Cleveland 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 Banoak

Curious and Interesting Names Near Banoak ...

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.

• Advent Crossroads
  (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Advent Crossroads is located in Catawba County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Advent Crossroads
• Cat Square
  (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Cat Square is located in Lincoln County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cat Square
• Cooksville
  (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • Cooksville is located in Catawba County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cooksville
• Daniels ‑ Historic
  (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Daniels is located in Lincoln County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Daniels
• Flay
  (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
  • Flay is located in Lincoln County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flay
• Henry
  (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
  • Henry is located in Lincoln County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Henry
• Henry River
  (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • Henry River is located in Burke County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Henry River
• Hulls Crossroads
  (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Hulls Crossroads is located in Lincoln County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hulls Crossroads
• Mountain View
  (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • Mountain View is located in Catawba County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountain View
• Orleans
  (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
  • Orleans is located in Lincoln County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orleans
• Plateau
  (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
  • Plateau is located in Catawba County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plateau
• Pleasant ‑ Historic
  (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Pleasant is located in Lincoln County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant
• Startown
  (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Startown is located in Catawba County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Startown

How Far From Banoak to ...

We spend a lot of time looking through Gazetteers that were published in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Many of the Gazetteers include the distance from a community such as Banoak to various places of note, such as the White House.

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

• Newton, which is the Seat of Catawba County, lies 11 miles [17.7 km]<1> to the east northeast. If you could walk a straight line from Banoak to Newton, with an average speed<2> 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.
• Raleigh, which is the State Capital of North Carolina, lies 155 miles [249.4 km] to the east (E). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than three hours, a buggy would take 6 days and walking would take 9 days.
• The White House (Washington, DC) is 331 miles [532.7 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take five to six hours, a buggy would take 13 days and walking would take 19 days.
• The shortest distance<3> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,228 miles [10,023 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<4>
• The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,930 miles [11,152.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
• The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,808 miles [7,737.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>'