Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Orion, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Orion and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Orion
- 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 Orion:
- 36.397626, -81.420934
- 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 Orion
- 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 Orion is near Alleghany County and also Wilkes County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Alleghany County
- eBird sighting report for Wilkes 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 Orion ...
We found thirteen communities that share the name Orion.
Within North Carolina, the name Orion is unique.
Beyond North Carolina, we know of another thirteen communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these thirteen communities, twelve are located in the United States and one is in Canada.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Alabama
- Alberta
- This Orion lies 1,721 miles [2,769.7 km]<1> to the northwest of the Orion that is located in Ashe County.
- Arkansas
- California
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Kansas
- Cloud County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<3> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Kansas community of Orion [Cloud County].
- Gove County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Kansas community of Orion [Gove County].
- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- Nevada
- Oklahoma
- Wisconsin
Curious and Interesting Names Near Orion ...
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.
- Beaver Creek
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Beaver Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beaver Creek
- Beaver Creek is located in Ashe County
- Chestnut Hill
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Chestnut Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chestnut Hill
- Chestnut Hill is located in Ashe County
- Comet
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Comet
- Comet is located in Ashe County
- Crumpler
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Crumpler have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crumpler
- Crumpler is located in Ashe County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Crumpler <5>
- Fleetwood
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fleetwood have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fleetwood
- Fleetwood is located in Ashe County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fleetwood <5>
- Idlewild
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south) - Nathans Creek
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Nathans Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nathans Creek
- Nathans Creek is located in Ashe County
- Ore Knob
(5 miles [8 km] to the east) - Oval
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
How Far From Orion 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 Orion to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Orion and extending to:
- Jefferson, which is the Seat of Ashe County, lies just to the West Northwest.
- Raleigh, which is the State Capital of North Carolina, lies 160 miles [257.5 km]<1> to the east southeast (ESE). If you could drive a straight line from Orion to Raleigh, with an average speed<6>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take less than three hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 9 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 7 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 295 miles [474.8 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 6,192 miles [9,965.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,898 miles [11,101.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,775 miles [7,684.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<10>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Orion. 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> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Orion) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Orion. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 36.3976, Longitude: -81.4209 In this case, the coordinates for Orion have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <2> | 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 Orion, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <3> | 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 Rock Creek to see Pete ... Rock Creek 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 Orion 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. |
| <4> | 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. |
| <5> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <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 Orion 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 310.558 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 306.108 degrees. |
| <10> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 307.384 degrees. |