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Tidbits & Trivia
Introduction ...
Below is our collection of tidbits and odds 'n ends for Apple Acres.
Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Apple Acres, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Apple Acres 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 Apple Acres:
- 37.156518, -80.418662<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 Apple Acres
- 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 Apple Acres is near Radford City and also Pulaski County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- Open the eBird sighting report for Radford City
- Open the eBird sighting report for Pulaski 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 Apple Acres
Curious and Interesting Names Near Apple Acres ...
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.
- Bangs ‑ Historic
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Bangs was located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bangs
- Christiansburg
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Craig Mountain
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Craig Mountain is also located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Craig Mountain
- Diamond Pointe
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Diamond Pointe is also located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Diamond Pointe
- Echo Hills
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Echo Hills is also located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Echo Hills
- Farmview
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Farmview is also located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Farmview
- Lee-Hi Court
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Lee-Hi Court is also located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lee-Hi Court
- Lester Place
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Lester Place is also located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lester Place
- Mockingbird Hill
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Mockingbird Hill is also located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mockingbird Hill
- Mountain View Park
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Mountain View Park is also located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountain View Park
- Raintree Village
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Raintree Village is also located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Raintree Village
- Ramble Ridge
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Ramble Ridge is also located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ramble Ridge
- Continue List (7 more) ...
- Rolling Hills
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Rolling Hills is also located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rolling Hills
- Sleepy Hollow
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Sleepy Hollow is also located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sleepy Hollow
- Suburban Hills
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Suburban Hills is also located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Suburban Hills
- Victory Heights
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Victory Heights is also located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Victory Heights
- Windmill Hills
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Windmill Hills is also located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Windmill Hills
- Yellow Sulphur
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Yellow Sulphur is also located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yellow Sulphur
- Yellow Sulphur Springs
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Yellow Sulphur Springs is also located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yellow Sulphur Springs
How Far From Apple Acres 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 included the distance from a community such as Apple Acres to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<3> beginning in Apple Acres and extending to:
- Christiansburg, which is the Seat of Montgomery County, lies just to the South Southeast.
- Richmond, which is the State Capital of Virginia, lies 165 miles [265.5 km]<3> to the east (E). If you could drive a straight line from Apple Acres to Richmond, with an average speed<4>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take about three hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 10 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 7 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 219 miles [352.4 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take nearly four hours, a buggy would take 9 days and walking would take 13 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,116 miles [9,842.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,822 miles [10,978.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,699 miles [7,562.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Footnotes ...
| <1> | GPS Coordinates for Apple Acres:
Decimal: 37.15651, -80.418662
DDMMSS: 37° 9' 23", -80° 25' 7" |
| <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- Apple Acres) 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 Apple Acres 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 Apple Acres. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 37.1565, Longitude: -80.4187 In this case, the coordinates for Apple Acres have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 309.957 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 305.532 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 306.736 degrees. |
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