Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Bright, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Bright and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Bright
- 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 Bright:
- 36.281204, -83.238225
- 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 Bright
- 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 Hamblen County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Hamblen County
- Since Bright is near Grainger County and also Jefferson County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Grainger County
- eBird sighting report for Jefferson 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
Communities Also Named Bright ...
We found thirteen communities that share the name Bright.
Within Tennessee, the name Bright is unique.
Beyond Tennessee, we know of another thirteen communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these thirteen communities, twelve are located in the United States and one is in Canada.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Alabama
- Arkansas
- Florida
- Georgia
- Indiana
- Kansas
- Mississippi
- Ohio
- Ontario
- This Bright lies 503 miles [809.5 km]<2> to the north northeast of the Bright that is located in Hamblen County.
- Pennsylvania
- South Dakota
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
Curious and Interesting Names Near Bright ...
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.
- Bright Ferry
(Less than 2 miles to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bright Ferry have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bright Ferry
- Bright Ferry is located in Hamblen County
- Cheeks Crossroads
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cheeks Crossroads have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cheeks Crossroads
- Cheeks Crossroads is located in Hamblen County
- Cherokee Park
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cherokee Park have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherokee Park
- Cherokee Park is located in Hamblen County
- Dover
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south) - Gaby Hills
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gaby Hills have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gaby Hills
- Gaby Hills is located in Hamblen County
- Indian Hills
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Indian Hills have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Hills
- Indian Hills is located in Hamblen County
- Jaybird
(Less than 2 miles to the south) - Kentucky Heights
(Less than 2 miles to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kentucky Heights have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kentucky Heights
- Kentucky Heights is located in Hamblen County
- Liberty Heights
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Liberty Heights have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty Heights
- Liberty Heights is located in Hamblen County
- Long Ferry
(Less than 2 miles to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Long Ferry have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Long Ferry
- Long Ferry is located in Grainger County
- Mountain View Meadows
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mountain View Meadows have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountain View Meadows
- Mountain View Meadows is located in Hamblen County
- Needmore
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east) - Rocky Summit ‑ Historic
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rocky Summit have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rocky Summit
- Rocky Summit is located in Grainger County
How Far From Bright 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 Bright to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers and using the location of where the historic community of Bright once stood, the straight-line distance beginning in Bright and extending to:
- Morristown, which is the Seat of Hamblen County, lies just to the Southwest.
- Nashville, which is the State Capital of Tennessee, lies 197 miles [317 km]<2> to the west (W). If you could drive a straight line from Bright to Nashville, with an average speed<5>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take a little over three hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 12 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 8 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 384 miles [618 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take most of a day, a buggy would take 15 days and walking would take 22 days.
- The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,274 miles [10,097 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,984 miles [11,239.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,860 miles [7,821.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for State of Tennessee: https://www.tn.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | If we encounter the name of what might be a community, our methodology is to add that name to our Gazetteer as a placeholder. As we find more information about that community, it will be added to our Gazetteer. Just as a reminder: Our definition of a community is rather broad and includes those places (or areas) where several families lived and had a name which identified that place. For example, you might hear somebody say that they are going over to Bird Creek to see Pete ... Bird Creek is just a gas station and a couple of homes at the crossroads. While it might not be on the map, everybody in the area knows it by that name. Places of interest include buildings at a crossroad, several families clustered in a hollow or maybe the location of a way station. It also includes places like mines, lumber camps, ferry crossings, etc. The community might still exist, is now gone or only existed for just a short period of time. Also keep in mind that Bright could have been on the original document by mistake, misspelled, the original/alternate name of a community that we've listed elsewhere or was placed in the wrong county. Sometimes a post office or train station would have a different name than the community where it's located, so two names might be referring to the same community - we're working to straighten it all out. |
| <2> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Bright) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Bright. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 36.2812, Longitude: -83.2382 In this case, the coordinates for Bright have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <3> | We use the term 'Historic' broadly and it generally means that the community no longer exists. However, it can also mean that the community might still exist, but was significantly larger or had a more 'official' existence in the past than it does now. Unfortunately our sources of data have proven to be unreliable. If you can provide us with more specific information about Bright, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | 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. |
| <5> | 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. |
| <6> | 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 Bright to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 311.639 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 307.33 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 308.164 degrees. |