Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Blessing, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Blessing and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Blessing
- 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 Blessing:
- 36.935675, -81.205096
- 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 Blessing
- 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 Wythe County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Wythe County
- Since Blessing is near Smyth County and also Bland County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Smyth County
- eBird sighting report for Bland 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 Blessing ...
We found three communities that share the name Blessing.
Within Virginia, the name Blessing is unique.
Beyond Virginia, we know of another three communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Iowa
- Ohio
- Texas
Curious and Interesting Names Near Blessing ...
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.
- Beaver
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west) - Blacklick
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west) - Cedar Springs
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cedar Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Springs
- Cedar Springs is located in Smyth County
- Cripple Creek
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cripple Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cripple Creek
- Cripple Creek is located in Wythe County
- Crockett
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crockett
- Crockett is located in Wythe County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Crockett <3>
- Eagle Oak
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north) - Grubb
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast) - Rural Retreat
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rural Retreat
- Rural Retreat is located in Wythe County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,448 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rural Retreat <3>
- Speedwell
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Speedwell
- Speedwell is located in Wythe County
- Stones Mill
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Stones Mill have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stones Mill
- Stones Mill is located in Wythe County
- Stringtown
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Stringtown have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stringtown
- Stringtown is located in Wythe County
How Far From Blessing 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 Blessing to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Blessing and extending to:
- Wytheville, which is the Seat of Wythe County, lies just to the East.
- Richmond, which is the State Capital of Virginia, lies 211 miles [339.6 km]<1> to the east northeast (ENE). If you could drive a straight line from Blessing to Richmond, with an average speed<4>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 9 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 264 miles [424.9 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take four to five hours, a buggy would take 11 days and walking would take 15 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,159 miles [9,911.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,866 miles [11,049.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,743 miles [7,633.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Blessing. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for State of Virginia: https://www.virginia.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Blessing) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Blessing. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 36.9357, Longitude: -81.2051 In this case, the coordinates for Blessing have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <2> | 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. |
| <3> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <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 Blessing 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 310.426 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 306.036 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 307.13 degrees. |