Outdoor Activities ...

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

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

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

• 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 Shanks Mill:
  • 39.725930, -77.363598
  • 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 Shanks Mill

• 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 Adams County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
  • Open the eBird sighting report for Adams County
  • Since Shanks Mill is near Frederick County and also Franklin County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
  • Open the eBird sighting report for Frederick County
  • Open the eBird sighting report for Franklin 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 Shanks Mill

Curious and Interesting Names Near Shanks Mill ...

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.

• Blackberry Hills
  (Less than 2 miles to the south)
  • Blackberry Hills is located in Frederick County (MD)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blackberry Hills
• Distant View
  (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Distant View is located in Frederick County (MD)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Distant View
• Fairplay
  (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Fairplay is located in Adams County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairplay
• Fountain Dale
  (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • Fountain Dale is located in Adams County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fountain Dale
• Friends Creek
  (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
  • Friends Creek is located in Frederick County (MD)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Friends Creek
• Gladhill
  (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Gladhill is located in Adams County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gladhill
• Iron Springs
  (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Iron Springs is located in Adams County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iron Springs
• Jacks Mountain
  (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Jacks Mountain is located in Adams County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jacks Mountain
• Jones
  (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Jones is located in Frederick County (MD)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jones
• Longs ‑ Historic
  (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Longs is located in Frederick County (MD)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Longs
• Lost Valley
  (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
  • Lost Valley is located in Frederick County (MD)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lost Valley
• Maria Furnace
  (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Maria Furnace is located in Adams County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maria Furnace
• Silo Hill
  (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
  • Silo Hill is located in Frederick County (MD)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silo Hill
• Thornbrook
  (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Thornbrook is located in Frederick County (MD)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thornbrook

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

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

• Gettysburg, which is the Seat of Adams County, lies 10 miles [16.1 km]<1> to the northeast. If you could walk a straight line from Shanks Mill to Gettysburg, 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.
• Harrisburg, which is the State Capital of Pennsylvania, lies 46 miles [74 km] to the north northeast (NNE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than an hour, a buggy would take most of two days and walking would take about three full days.
• The White House (Washington, DC) is 59 miles [95 km] to the south southeast (SSE). Driving would take less than an hour, a buggy would take about three full days and walking would take most of three days.
• The shortest distance<3> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,876 miles [9,456.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<4>
• The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,585 miles [10,597.5 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<5>
• The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,461 miles [7,179.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>'