Outdoor Activities ...

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

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

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

• 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 Sorrento Skies:
  • 36.176240, -81.637328
  • 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 Sorrento Skies

• 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 Sorrento Skies is near Caldwell County and also Ashe County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
  • Open the eBird sighting report for Caldwell County
  • Open the eBird sighting report for Ashe 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 Sorrento Skies

Curious and Interesting Names Near Sorrento Skies ...

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 Ridge
  (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Apple Ridge is located in Caldwell County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Apple Ridge
• Bamboo
  (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Bamboo is located in Watauga County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bamboo
• Echo Park
  (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Echo Park is located in Watauga County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Echo Park
• Green Hill
  (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Green Hill is located in Watauga County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Hill
• Hillcrest
  (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Hillcrest is located in Watauga County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillcrest
• Laurel Park
  (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Laurel Park is located in Watauga County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laurel Park
• Oak Grove
  (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Oak Grove is located in Watauga County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Grove
• Poplar Grove
  (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Poplar Grove is located in Watauga County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poplar Grove
• Ski Mountain
  (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
  • Ski Mountain is located in Watauga County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ski Mountain

How Far From Sorrento Skies to ...

We spend a lot of time looking through Gazetteers that were published in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Many of the Gazetteers include the distance from a community such as Sorrento Skies to various places of note, such as the White House.

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<1> beginning in Sorrento Skies and extending to:

• Boone, which is the Seat of Watauga County, lies just to the Northwest.
• Raleigh, which is the State Capital of North Carolina, lies 169 miles [272 km]<1> to the east (E). If you could drive a straight line from Sorrento Skies to Raleigh, with an average speed<2>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 314 miles [505.3 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take five to six hours, a buggy would take 13 days and walking would take 18 days.
• The shortest distance<3> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,211 miles [9,995.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<4>
• The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,916 miles [11,130.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
• The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,794 miles [7,715.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>'