RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of North Carolina >> Wilkes County >> Wilbar >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

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

  • 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 Wilbar:
    • 36.244614, -81.298534
    • 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 Wilbar
  • 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 Wilkes County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Wilkes County
    • Since Wilbar is near Ashe County and also Watauga 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 Watauga 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 Wilbar

Curious and Interesting Names Near Wilbar ...

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.

  • Brown ‑ Historic
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Brown is located in Wilkes County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brown
  • Buck
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Buck is located in Wilkes County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buck
  • Cricket
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Cricket is located in Wilkes County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cricket
  • Cricket Park
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Cricket Park is located in Wilkes County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cricket Park
  • Fairplains
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Fairplains is located in Wilkes County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairplains
  • Halls Mills
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Halls Mills is located in Wilkes County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Halls Mills
  • Harley
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Harley is located in Wilkes County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harley
  • Hay Meadow ‑ Historic
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Hay Meadow is located in Wilkes County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hay Meadow
  • Idlewild
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Idlewild is located in Ashe County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Idlewild
  • Lester ‑ Historic
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Lester is located in Wilkes County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lester
  • Maple Springs
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Maple Springs is located in Wilkes County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maple Springs
  • Mount Pleasant
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Mount Pleasant is located in Wilkes County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Pleasant
  • Continue List   (6 more) ...
    • Mulberry
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Parsonville
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Parsonville is located in Wilkes County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parsonville
    • Ready Branch
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Ready Branch is located in Wilkes County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ready Branch
    • Stokes ‑ Historic
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Stokes is located in Wilkes County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stokes
    • Sunset Falls
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Sunset Falls is located in Wilkes County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunset Falls
    • Wildwood Park
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
      • Wildwood Park is located in Wilkes County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wildwood Park

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

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

  • Wilkesboro, which is the Seat of Wilkes County, lies 10 miles [16.1 km]<1> to the southeast. If you could walk a straight line from Wilbar to Wilkesboro, with an average speed<2> 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 151 miles [243 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than three hours, a buggy would take 6 days and walking would take 9 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 296 miles [476.4 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<3> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,194 miles [9,968.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<4>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,898 miles [11,101.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,776 miles [7,686.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>'

Footnotes ...

<1>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a '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- Wilbar) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<2>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.
<3>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 Wilbar to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Wilbar. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 36.2446, Longitude: -81.2985    
<4>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 310.486 degrees.
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 306.004 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 307.38 degrees.