Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Shepherds, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Shepherds and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Shepherds
- 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 Shepherds:
- 35.635328, -80.828002
- 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 Shepherds
- 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 Iredell County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Iredell County
- Since Shepherds is near Rowan County and also Catawba County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Rowan County
- eBird sighting report for Catawba 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 Shepherds ...
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.
- Bear Poplar
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bear Poplar have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bear Poplar
- Bear Poplar is located in Rowan County
- Cloverdale
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cloverdale have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cloverdale
- Cloverdale is located in Iredell County
- Cornelius
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cornelius have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cornelius
- Cornelius is located in Mecklenburg County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 30,804 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cornelius <2>
- Five Points
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Five Points have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Five Points
- Five Points is located in Rowan County
- Glenn Echo
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Glenn Echo have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenn Echo
- Glenn Echo is located in Iredell County
- Green Acres
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Green Acres have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Acres
- Green Acres is located in Iredell County
- Harts ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast) - Hickory Hills
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hickory Hills have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hickory Hills
- Hickory Hills is located in Iredell County
- Hopewell
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south) - Kyles Crossroads
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kyles Crossroads have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kyles Crossroads
- Kyles Crossroads is located in Iredell County
- Long Island
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Long Island have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Long Island
- Long Island is located in Catawba County
- Mayhew
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mayhew
- Mayhew is located in Iredell County
- Continue List (4 more) ...
- Ourdell
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north) - River View ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for River View have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for River View
- River View is located in Mecklenburg County
- Troutman
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Troutman have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Troutman
- Troutman is located in Iredell County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,817 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Troutman <2>
- Valley Stream
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Valley Stream have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valley Stream
- Valley Stream is located in Iredell County
- Ourdell
How Far From Shepherds to ...
We spend a lot of time looking through Gazetteers, Almanacs & Directories that were published in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Many of the Gazetteers include the distance from a community such as Shepherds to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<3> beginning in Shepherds and extending to:
- Statesville, which is the Seat of Iredell County, lies 10 miles [16.1 km]<3> to the north northwest. If you could walk a straight line from Shepherds to Statesville, with an average speed<4> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take four to five hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take a little over three hours.
- Raleigh, which is the State Capital of North Carolina, lies 122 miles [196.3 km] to the east (E). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take about two hours, a buggy would take 5 days and walking would take 7 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 306 miles [492.5 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<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,201 miles [9,979.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,902 miles [11,107.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,780 miles [7,692.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Shepherds. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Iredell County: www.co.iredell.nc.us/
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 drawn from Point A (ie- Shepherds) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Shepherds. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 35.6353, Longitude: -80.8280 In this case, the coordinates for Shepherds 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 Shepherds 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 310.213 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 305.602 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 307.376 degrees. |