Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in The Forest at Blowing Rock, we use the following websites to find information relevant to The Forest at Blowing Rock and the surrounding area.

• Weather ...
  • Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
  • The National Weather Service forecast for The Forest at Blowing Rock

• 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 The Forest at Blowing Rock:
  • 36.118185, -81.720107
  • 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 The Forest at Blowing Rock

• 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 Caldwell County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
  • Open the eBird sighting report for Caldwell County
  • Since The Forest at Blowing Rock is near Watauga County and also Avery County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
  • Open the eBird sighting report for Watauga County
  • Open the eBird sighting report for Avery 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 The Forest at Blowing Rock

Curious and Interesting Names Near The Forest at Blowing Rock ...

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.

• Apple Ridge
  (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Apple Ridge is located in Caldwell County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Apple Ridge
• Cherokee Woods
  (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
  • Cherokee Woods is located in Caldwell County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherokee Woods
• Echo Park
  (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Echo Park is located in Watauga County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Echo Park
• Falcon Crest
  (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Falcon Crest is located in Caldwell County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Falcon Crest
• Globe
  (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Globe is located in Caldwell County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Globe
• Green Hill
  (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Green Hill is located in Watauga County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Hill
• Hemlock Ridge
  (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
  • Hemlock Ridge is located in Watauga County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hemlock Ridge
• Hounds Ear
  (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Hounds Ear is located in Watauga County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hounds Ear
• Laurel Park
  (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
  • Laurel Park is located in Watauga County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laurel Park
• Poplar Grove
  (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Poplar Grove is located in Watauga County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poplar Grove
• Seven Devils
  (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Seven Devils is located in Avery County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seven Devils
  • Population from the 2020 Census: 203 people
  • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Seven Devils <1>
• Ski Mountain
  (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Ski Mountain is located in Watauga County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ski Mountain
• Valley Creek
  (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Valley Creek is located in Watauga County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valley Creek

How Far From The Forest at Blowing Rock 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 The Forest at Blowing Rock to various places of note, such as the White House.

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<2> beginning in The Forest at Blowing Rock and extending to:

• Lenoir, which is the Seat of Caldwell County, lies 17 miles [27.4 km]<2> to the southeast. If you could walk a straight line from The Forest at Blowing Rock to Lenoir, with an average speed<3> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take most of a day to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take five to six hours.
• Raleigh, which is the State Capital of North Carolina, lies 173 miles [278.4 km] to the east (E). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take about three hours, a buggy would take 7 days and walking would take 10 days.
• The White House (Washington, DC) is 320 miles [515 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<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,217 miles [10,005.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
• The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,923 miles [11,141.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
• The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,800 miles [7,724.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>'