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

Outdoor Activities ...

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

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

  • 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 Blades:
    • 34.885994, -76.772157
    • 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 Blades
  • 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 Craven County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Craven County
    • Since Blades is near Carteret County and also Pamlico County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Carteret County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Pamlico 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 Blades

Communities Also Named Blades ...

We found two communities that are also named Blades.

Within North Carolina, the name Blades is unique.

Beyond North Carolina, we know of two communities that are located in the United States.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Delaware
      • Kent County
      • This Blades is located in Kent County and lies 300 miles [482.8 km]<1> to the north northeast of the Blades that is located in Craven County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Kent County community of Blades.
      • Sussex County
      • This Blades is located in Sussex County and lies 266 miles [428.1 km] to the north northeast of the Blades that is located in Craven County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Sussex County community of Blades.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Blades ...

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.

  • Bachelor
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Bachelor is located in Craven County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bachelor
  • Camp Seagull
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Camp Seagull is located in Pamlico County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Camp Seagull
  • Cherry Point ‑ Historic
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Cherry Point is located in Craven County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherry Point
    • Cherry Point has also been known as:
    • Cherry Point Landing
    • Cherrypoint Landing
    • Cherrypoint
  • College Park
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • College Park is located in Craven County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for College Park
  • Crab Point Village
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Crab Point Village is located in Carteret County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crab Point Village
  • Craven Corner
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Craven Corner is located in Craven County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Craven Corner
  • Great Neck
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Great Neck is located in Craven County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Great Neck
  • Havelock
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Havelock is located in Craven County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Havelock
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 19,593 people
  • Havelock Park
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Havelock Park is located in Craven County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Havelock Park
  • Minnesott Beach
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Minnesott Beach is located in Pamlico County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Minnesott Beach
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 423 people
  • Union Point
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Union Point is located in Carteret County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union Point

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

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

  • New Bern, which is the Seat of Craven County, lies 21 miles [33.8 km]<1> to the northwest. If you could walk a straight line from Blades to New Bern, with an average speed<2> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take just over a day to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take most of a day.
  • Raleigh, which is the State Capital of North Carolina, lies 122 miles [196.3 km] to the west northwest (WNW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take about two hours, a buggy would take 5 days and walking would take 7 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 277 miles [445.8 km] to the north (N). Driving would take four to five hours, a buggy would take 11 days and walking would take 16 days.
  • The shortest distance<3> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,056 miles [9,746.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<4>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,742 miles [10,850.2 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<5>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,628 miles [7,448 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>'

Footnotes ...

<1>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- Blades) 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 Blades 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 Blades. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 34.8860, Longitude: -76.7722       In this case, the coordinates for Blades have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<4>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 307.928 degrees.
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 302.875 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 306.07 degrees.