Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Dobbins, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Dobbins and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Dobbins
- 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 Dobbins:
- 35.715973, -80.582007
- 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 Dobbins
- 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 Rowan County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Rowan County
- Since Dobbins is near Davie County and also Davidson County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Davie County
- eBird sighting report for Davidson 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
Communities Also Named Dobbins ...
We found four communities that share the name Dobbins.
Within North Carolina, the name Dobbins is unique.
Beyond North Carolina, we know of another four communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- California
- Kentucky
- Michigan
- New Jersey
Curious and Interesting Names Near Dobbins ...
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.
- Barber
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barber
- Barber is located in Rowan County
- Bear Poplar
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bear Poplar have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bear Poplar
- Bear Poplar is located in Rowan County
- Eagle Heights
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Eagle Heights have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eagle Heights
- Eagle Heights is located in Rowan County
- Franklin
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Franklin
- Franklin is located in Rowan County
- Holly Park
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Holly Park have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holly Park
- Holly Park is located in Rowan County
- Lincoln Heights
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lincoln Heights have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lincoln Heights
- Lincoln Heights is located in Rowan County
- Lockeland
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast) - Meadowbrook
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Meadowbrook have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadowbrook
- Meadowbrook is located in Rowan County
- Mocksville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mocksville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mocksville
- Mocksville is located in Rowan County
- Rolling Hills
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rolling Hills have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rolling Hills
- Rolling Hills is located in Rowan County
- Sunrise Park
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sunrise Park have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunrise Park
- Sunrise Park is located in Rowan County
- Unity ‑ Historic
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest) - Woodleaf
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodleaf
- Woodleaf is located in Rowan County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Woodleaf <4>
How Far From Dobbins to ...
We spend a lot of time looking through Gazetteers, Almanacs & Directories that were published in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Many of the Gazetteers include the distance from a community such as Dobbins to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers and using the location of where the historic<5> community of Dobbins once stood, the straight-line distance beginning in Dobbins and extending to:
- Salisbury, which is the Seat of Rowan County, lies just to the East Southeast.
- Raleigh, which is the State Capital of North Carolina, lies 108 miles [173.8 km]<1> to the east (E). If you could drive a straight line from Dobbins to Raleigh, with an average speed<6>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take about two hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 7 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 5 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 293 miles [471.5 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take four to five hours, a buggy would take 12 days and walking would take 17 days.
- The shortest distance<7> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,187 miles [9,957 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,887 miles [11,083.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,766 miles [7,670.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<10>
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Rowan County: www.co.rowan.nc.us/
The official website for State of North Carolina: https://www.nc.gov/
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 drawn from Point A (ie- Dobbins) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Dobbins. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 35.7160, Longitude: -80.5820 In this case, the coordinates for Dobbins have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <2> | If we encounter the name of what might be a community, our methodology is to add that name to our Gazetteer as a placeholder. As we find more information about that community, it will be added to our Gazetteer. Just as a reminder: Our definition of a community is rather broad and includes those places (or areas) where several families lived and had a name which identified that place. For example, you might hear somebody say that they are going over to Mile's to see Pete ... Mile's is just a gas station and a couple of homes at the crossroads. While it might not be on the map, everybody in the area knows it by that name. Places of interest include buildings at a crossroad, several families clustered in a hollow or maybe the location of a way station. It also includes places like mines, lumber camps, ferry crossings, etc. The community might still exist, is now gone or only existed for just a short period of time. Also keep in mind that Dobbins could have been on the original document by mistake, misspelled, the original/alternate name of a community that we've listed elsewhere or was placed in the wrong county. Sometimes a post office or train station would have a different name than the community where it's located, so two names might be referring to the same community - we're working to straighten it all out. |
| <3> | 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. |
| <4> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <5> | We use the term 'Historic' broadly and it generally means that the community no longer exists. However, it can also mean that the community might still exist, but was significantly larger or had a more 'official' existence in the past than it does now. Unfortunately our sources of data have proven to be unreliable. If you can provide us with more specific information about Dobbins, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <6> | 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. |
| <7> | 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 Dobbins to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 310.07 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 305.45 degrees. |
| <10> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 307.254 degrees. |