Outdoor Activities ...

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

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

• Weather ...
  • Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
  • The National Weather Service forecast for Moretz

• 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 Moretz:
  • 36.264817, -81.621994
  • 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 Moretz

• 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 Watauga County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
  • Open the eBird sighting report for Watauga County
  • Since Moretz is near Ashe County and also Johnson County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
  • Open the eBird sighting report for Ashe County
  • Open the eBird sighting report for Johnson 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 Moretz

Curious and Interesting Names Near Moretz ...

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.

• Bamboo
  (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Bamboo is located in Watauga County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bamboo
  • Google driving directions:
  • From your current location to Bamboo
  • From Moretz to Bamboo
• Deep Gap
  (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Deep Gap is located in Watauga County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deep Gap
  • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Deep Gap <1>
  • Google driving directions:
  • From your current location to Deep Gap
  • From Moretz to Deep Gap
• Fleetwood
  (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Fleetwood is located in Ashe County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fleetwood
  • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fleetwood <1>
• Grave Yard ‑ Historic
  (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Grave Yard is located in Watauga County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grave Yard
• Hillcrest
  (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Hillcrest is located in Watauga County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillcrest
• Meat Camp
  (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Meat Camp is located in Watauga County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meat Camp
• Oak Grove
  (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Oak Grove is located in Watauga County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Grove
• Poplar Grove
  (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Poplar Grove is located in Watauga County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poplar Grove
• Pottertown
  (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Pottertown is located in Watauga County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pottertown
• Silverstone
  (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  • Silverstone is located in Watauga County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silverstone
• Soda Hill
  (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
  • Soda Hill is located in Watauga County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Soda Hill
• Solo
  (Less than 2 miles to the north)
  • Solo is located in Watauga County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Solo

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

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<2> beginning in Moretz and extending to:

• Boone, which is the Seat of Watauga County, lies just to the Southwest.
• Raleigh, which is the State Capital of North Carolina, lies 169 miles [272 km]<2> to the east (E). If you could drive a straight line from Moretz to Raleigh, with an average speed<3>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take about three hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 10 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 7 days.
• The White House (Washington, DC) is 309 miles [497.3 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take five to six hours, a buggy would take 12 days and walking would take 18 days.
• The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,207 miles [9,989.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
• The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,912 miles [11,123.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
• The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,789 miles [7,707.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>'