Outdoor Activities ...

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

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

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

• 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 Backbone:
  • 37.773179, -80.155342
  • 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 Backbone

• 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 Alleghany County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
  • Open the eBird sighting report for Alleghany County
  • Since Backbone is near Greenbrier County and also Covington City, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
  • Open the eBird sighting report for Greenbrier County
  • Open the eBird sighting report for Covington City

• 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 Backbone

Curious and Interesting Names Near Backbone ...

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.

• Boiling Spring
  (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Boiling Spring is located in Alleghany County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boiling Spring
• Crows
  (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Crows is located in Alleghany County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crows
• Dickson
  (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
  • Dickson is located in Greenbrier County (WV)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dickson
• Fairlawn
  (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
  • Fairlawn is located in Covington City
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairlawn
• Hematite
  (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
  • Hematite is located in Alleghany County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hematite
• Iron Hill Springs
  (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
  • Iron Hill Springs is located in Alleghany County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iron Hill Springs
• Mapledale
  (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Mapledale is located in Greenbrier County (WV)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mapledale
• Moss Run
  (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Moss Run is located in Alleghany County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moss Run
• Potts Creek
  (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
  • Potts Creek is located in Alleghany County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Potts Creek
• Stonewall
  (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • Stonewall is located in Alleghany County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stonewall

How Far From Backbone to ...

We spend a lot of time looking through Gazetteers & Almanacs that were published in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Many of the Gazetteers include the distance from a community such as Backbone to various places of note, such as the White House.

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

• Richmond, which is the State Capital of Virginia, lies 149 miles [239.8 km]<1> to the east (E). If you could drive a straight line from Backbone to Richmond, with an average speed<2>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take less than three hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 9 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 6 days.
• The White House (Washington, DC) is 185 miles [297.7 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take a little over three hours, a buggy would take 8 days and walking would take 11 days.
• The shortest distance<3> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,078 miles [9,781.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<4>
• The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,786 miles [10,921 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
• The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,662 miles [7,502.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>'