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Tidbits & Trivia
Introduction ...
Below is our collection of tidbits and odds 'n ends for Belfry Meadow.
Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Belfry Meadow, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Belfry Meadow 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 Belfry Meadow:
- 40.174900, -75.299500<1>
- 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 Belfry Meadow
- 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 Montgomery County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- Open the eBird sighting report for Montgomery County
- Since Belfry Meadow is near Indiana County and also Philadelphia County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- Open the eBird sighting report for Indiana County
- Open the eBird sighting report for Philadelphia 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 Belfry Meadow
Curious and Interesting Names Near Belfry Meadow ...
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.
- Acorn
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Acorn is also located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Acorn
- Blue Bell
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Broad Axe
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Clover Crest
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Clover Crest is also located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clover Crest
- Far-A-Field
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Far-A-Field is also located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Far-A-Field
- Five Points
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Five Points is also located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Five Points
- Helen Marie Court
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Helen Marie Court is also located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Helen Marie Court
- Meadow Wick
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Meadow Wick is also located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadow Wick
- Mermaid Estates
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Mermaid Estates is also located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mermaid Estates
- Merrybrook
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Merrybrook is also located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merrybrook
- Mews at Blue Bell
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Mews at Blue Bell is also located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mews at Blue Bell
- Mount Pleasant
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Mount Pleasant is also located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Pleasant
- Continue List (7 more) ...
- Parsons Glen
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Parsons Glen is also located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parsons Glen
- Spring House
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Springtown
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Springtown is also located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springtown
- Stuarts Keep
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Stuarts Keep is also located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stuarts Keep
- Sugarvalley
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Sugarvalley is also located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sugarvalley
- Townline
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Townline is also located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Townline
- Village Circle
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Village Circle is also located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Village Circle
How Far From Belfry Meadow 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 included the distance from a community such as Belfry Meadow to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<3> beginning in Belfry Meadow and extending to:
- Norristown, which is the Seat of Montgomery County, lies just to the South Southwest.
- Harrisburg, which is the State Capital of Pennsylvania, lies 83 miles [133.6 km]<3> to the west (W). If you could drive a straight line from Belfry Meadow to Harrisburg, with an average speed<4>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take less than two hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 5 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take most of three days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 127 miles [204.4 km] to the southwest (SW). Driving would take less than three hours, a buggy would take 5 days and walking would take 8 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,770 miles [9,285.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,477 miles [10,423.7 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,353 miles [7,005.5 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<8>
Footnotes ...
| <1> | GPS Coordinates for Belfry Meadow:
Decimal: 40.17490, -75.299500
DDMMSS: 40° 10' 29", -75° 17' 58" |
| <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 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Belfry Meadow) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <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 Belfry Meadow 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 Belfry Meadow. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 40.1749, Longitude: -75.2995 In this case, the coordinates for Belfry Meadow have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 306.764 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 302.361 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 303.458 degrees. |
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