Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Valmead, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Valmead and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Valmead
- 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 Valmead:
- 35.937075, -81.538152
- 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 Valmead
- 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 Caldwell County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Caldwell County
- Since Valmead is near Burke County and also Wilkes County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Burke 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
Curious and Interesting Names Near Valmead ...
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.
- Cedar Rock
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cedar Rock have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Rock
- Cedar Rock is located in Caldwell County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 299 people
- Cedar Rock has also been known as:
- Cedar Rock village
- Cloverdale
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)- 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 Caldwell County
- Copenhagen ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Copenhagen have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Copenhagen
- Copenhagen is located in Caldwell County
- Gamewell
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gamewell
- Gamewell is located in Caldwell County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,993 people
- Globe Set ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the west) - Happy Valley
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Happy Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Happy Valley
- Happy Valley is located in Caldwell County
- Heritage Hills
(Less than 2 miles to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Heritage Hills have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heritage Hills
- Heritage Hills is located in Caldwell County
- Honey Hill
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Honey Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Honey Hill
- Honey Hill is located in Caldwell County
- Indian Hills
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Indian Hills have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Hills
- Indian Hills is located in Caldwell County
- Jones ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the north) - Maple Valley
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Maple Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maple Valley
- Maple Valley is located in Caldwell County
- Tranquil Hill
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tranquil Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tranquil Hill
- Tranquil Hill is located in Caldwell County
- Warrior
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
How Far From Valmead 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 Valmead to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<2> beginning in Valmead and extending to:
- Lenoir, which is the Seat of Caldwell County, lies just to the South.
- Raleigh, which is the State Capital of North Carolina, lies 162 miles [260.7 km]<2> to the east (E). If you could drive a straight line from Valmead to Raleigh, with an average speed<3>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 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 320 miles [515 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take five to six hours, a buggy would take 13 days and walking would take 19 days.
- The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,218 miles [10,006.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,922 miles [11,139.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,799 miles [7,723.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Valmead. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Caldwell County: www.co.caldwell.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> | 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- Valmead) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Valmead. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 35.9371, Longitude: -81.5382 In this case, the coordinates for Valmead have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <3> | 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. |
| <4> | 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 Valmead to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <5> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 310.627 degrees. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 306.121 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 307.569 degrees. |