Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Bloom, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Bloom and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Bloom
- 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 Bloom:
- 39.147049, -78.373339
- 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 Bloom
- 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 Frederick County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Frederick County
- Since Bloom is near Hampshire County and also Shenandoah County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Hampshire County
- eBird sighting report for Shenandoah 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 Bloom ...
We found nine communities that share the name Bloom.
Within Virginia, the name Bloom is unique.
Beyond Virginia, we know of another nine communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these nine communities, eight are located in the United States and one is in Canada.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Colorado
- Illinois
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Manitoba
- Maryland
- North Dakota
- Ohio
- Utah
Curious and Interesting Names Near Bloom ...
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.
- Fawcett Gap
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Fawcett Gap. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<4>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fawcett Gap
- Fawcett Gap is located in Frederick County
- Gravel Springs
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gravel Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gravel Springs
- Gravel Springs is located in Frederick County
- High View
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for High View have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for High View
- High View is located in Hampshire County (WV)
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for High View <6>
- Hunters Valley
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hunters Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hunters Valley
- Hunters Valley is located in Frederick County
- Mount Hope
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mount Hope have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Hope
- Mount Hope is located in Shenandoah County
- Mount Pleasant
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mount Pleasant have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Pleasant
- Mount Pleasant is located in Frederick County
- Mount Williams
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mount Williams have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Williams
- Mount Williams is located in Frederick County
- Mountain Falls
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Mountain Falls. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<4>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountain Falls
- Mountain Falls is located in Frederick County
- Poplar Ridge
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Poplar Ridge have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poplar Ridge
- Poplar Ridge is located in Frederick County
- Wheatfield
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wheatfield have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wheatfield
- Wheatfield is located in Shenandoah County
How Far From Bloom 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 Bloom 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 Bloom once stood, the straight-line distance beginning in Bloom and extending to:
- Richmond, which is the State Capital of Virginia, lies 121 miles [194.7 km]<1> to the south southeast (SSE). If you could drive a straight line from Bloom to Richmond, with an average speed<7>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take about two hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 7 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 5 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 73 miles [117.5 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving would take less than two hours, a buggy would take most of three days and walking would take 5 days.
- The shortest distance<8> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,943 miles [9,564.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,652 miles [10,705.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<10>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,528 miles [7,287.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<11>
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Frederick County: www.co.frederick.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 'straight-line' (or 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- Bloom) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Bloom. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 39.1470, Longitude: -78.3733 In this case, the coordinates for Bloom have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <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 Mile's to see Pete ... Mile's 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 Bloom 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> | 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 Bloom, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace. |
| <5> | 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. |
| <6> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <7> | 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. |
| <8> | 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 Bloom to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 308.669 degrees. |
| <10> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 304.363 degrees. |
| <11> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 305.187 degrees. |