Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Listening Rock, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Listening Rock and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Listening 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 Listening Rock:
- 36.557064, -81.639835
- 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 Listening 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 Ashe County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Ashe County
- Since Listening Rock is near Grayson County and also Washington County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Grayson County
- eBird sighting report for Washington 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
Curious and Interesting Names Near Listening 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 Grove
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Apple Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Apple Grove
- Apple Grove is located in Ashe County
- Big Hill
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north) - Comet
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Comet
- Comet is located in Ashe County
- Creek Junction
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Creek Junction have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Creek Junction
- Creek Junction is located in Washington County (VA)
- Dowell ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest) - Eureka
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west) - Fig
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south) - Flatwood
(Less than 2 miles to the west) - Green Cove
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Cove
- Green Cove is located in Washington County (VA)
- Laurel Bloomery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Laurel Bloomery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laurel Bloomery
- Laurel Bloomery is located in Johnson County (TN)
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Laurel Bloomery <2>
- Silver Lake
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Silver Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver Lake
- Silver Lake is located in Johnson County (TN)
- Sugar Creek
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sugar Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sugar Creek
- Sugar Creek is located in Johnson County (TN)
- Tuckerdale
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tuckerdale have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tuckerdale
- Tuckerdale is located in Ashe County
How Far From Listening 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 Listening Rock to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<3> beginning in Listening Rock and extending to:
- Jefferson, which is the Seat of Ashe County, lies 13 miles [20.9 km]<3> to the southeast. If you could walk a straight line from Listening Rock to Jefferson, with an average speed<4> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take 6 hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take four to five hours.
- Raleigh, which is the State Capital of North Carolina, lies 175 miles [281.6 km] to the east southeast (ESE). 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 298 miles [479.6 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take five to six hours, a buggy would take 12 days and walking would take 17 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,194 miles [9,968.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,901 miles [11,106.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,778 miles [7,689.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Listening Rock. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Ashe County: www.ashecountygov.com/
The official website for State of North Carolina: https://www.nc.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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. |
| <2> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <3> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Listening Rock) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Listening Rock. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 36.5571, Longitude: -81.6398 In this case, the coordinates for Listening Rock have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <4> | 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. |
| <5> | 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 Listening Rock to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 310.686 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 306.279 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 307.425 degrees. |