Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Abilene, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Abilene and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Abilene
- 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 Abilene:
- 37.142121, -78.543970
- 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 Abilene
- 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 Charlotte County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Charlotte County
- Since Abilene is near Prince Edward County and also Lunenburg County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Prince Edward County
- eBird sighting report for Lunenburg 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 Abilene ...
We found six communities that share the name Abilene.
Within Virginia, the name Abilene is unique.
Beyond Virginia, we know of another six communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these six communities, five are located in the United States and one is in Canada.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Alberta
- This Abilene lies 1,947 miles [3,133.4 km]<1> to the northwest of the Abilene that is located in Charlotte County.
- Arkansas
- California
- Georgia
- Kansas
- Texas
- Alberta
Curious and Interesting Names Near Abilene ...
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.
- Blake Village
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Blake Village have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blake Village
- Blake Village is located in Prince Edward County
- Bruceville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bruceville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bruceville
- Bruceville is located in Lunenburg County
- County Line Cross Roads
(Less than 2 miles to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for County Line Cross Roads have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for County Line Cross Roads
- County Line Cross Roads is located in Charlotte County
- Elam
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north) - Eureka
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south) - Five Forks
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Five Forks
- Five Forks is located in Prince Edward County
- Henry
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south) - Kingsville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kingsville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kingsville
- Kingsville is located in Prince Edward County
- Shields
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest) - Simplicity
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Simplicity have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Simplicity
- Simplicity is located in Lunenburg County
How Far From Abilene 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 Abilene to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Abilene and extending to:
- Charlotte Court House, which is the Seat of Charlotte County, lies just to the Southwest.
- Richmond, which is the State Capital of Virginia, lies 66 miles [106.2 km]<1> to the east northeast (ENE). If you could walk a straight line from Abilene to Richmond, with an average speed<4> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take three full days to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take about three full days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 146 miles [235 km] to the north northeast (NNE). 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 shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,037 miles [9,715.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,738 miles [10,843.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,616 miles [7,428.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Abilene. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Charlotte County: www.co.charlotte.va.us/
The official website for State of Virginia: https://www.virginia.gov/
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- Abilene) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Abilene. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 37.1421, Longitude: -78.5440 |
| <2> | 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 Rock Creek to see Pete ... Rock 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 Abilene 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. |
| <3> | 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. |
| <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 Abilene to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 308.858 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 304.275 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 305.976 degrees. |