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.
  • Open 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:
  • Open the 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:
  • Open the eBird sighting report for Grayson County
  • Open the 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:
  • Open the Waymark.com report for Listening Rock

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)
  • Apple Grove is located in Ashe County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Apple Grove
• Big Hill
  (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Big Hill is located in Washington County (VA)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Hill
• Comet
  (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Comet is located in Ashe County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Comet
• Creek Junction
  (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Creek Junction is located in Washington County (VA)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Creek Junction
• Dowell ‑ Historic
  (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Dowell is located in Johnson County (TN)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dowell
  • Estimated population in 2014: 364 people
• Eureka
  (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  • Eureka is located in Johnson County (TN)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eureka
• Fig
  (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
  • Fig is located in Ashe County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fig
• Flatwood
  (Less than 2 miles to the west)
  • Flatwood is located in Ashe County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flatwood
• Green Cove
  (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Green Cove is located in Washington County (VA)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Cove
• Laurel Bloomery
  (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Laurel Bloomery is located in Johnson County (TN)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laurel Bloomery
  • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Laurel Bloomery <1>
• Silver Lake
  (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  • Silver Lake is located in Johnson County (TN)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver Lake
• Sugar Creek
  (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Sugar Creek is located in Johnson County (TN)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sugar Creek
• Tuckerdale
  (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Tuckerdale is located in Ashe County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tuckerdale

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<2> beginning in Listening Rock and extending to:

• Jefferson, which is the Seat of Ashe County, lies 13 miles [20.9 km]<2> to the southeast. If you could walk a straight line from Listening Rock to Jefferson, with an average speed<3> 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<4> 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).<5>
• 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).<6>
• The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,778 miles [7,689.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>'