RoadsideThoughts
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Home >> State of Virginia >> Grayson County >> Boyer Ferry >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Tidbits & Trivia

Introduction ...

Below is our collection of tidbits and odds 'n ends for Boyer Ferry.

Outdoor Activities ...

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

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

  • Weather ...
  • 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 Boyer Ferry:
    • 36.612072, -81.045639<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 Boyer Ferry
  • 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 Grayson County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Grayson County
    • Since Boyer Ferry is near Alleghany County and also Galax City, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Alleghany County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Galax 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 Boyer Ferry

Curious and Interesting Names Near Boyer Ferry ...

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.

  • Carsonville
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Carsonville is also located in Grayson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carsonville
  • Chestnut Grove
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Chestnut Grove is located in Alleghany County (NC)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chestnut Grove
  • Cliffview
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Cliffview is located in Carroll County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cliffview
  • Edwards Crossroads
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Edwards Crossroads is located in Alleghany County (NC)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edwards Crossroads
  • Fries
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Fries is also located in Grayson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fries
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 444 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fries <2>
  • Hickory Flat
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Hickory Flat is located in Carroll County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hickory Flat
  • Hilltown
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Hilltown is also located in Grayson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hilltown
  • Hooker
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Hooker is located in Alleghany County (NC)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hooker
  • Independence
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Continue List   (6 more) ...
    • Low Gap
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
      • Low Gap is also located in Grayson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Low Gap
    • Moore Ferry
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
      • Moore Ferry is also located in Grayson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moore Ferry
    • Peach Bottom
      (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
      • Peach Bottom is also located in Grayson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peach Bottom
    • Providence
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
      • Providence is also located in Grayson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Providence
    • Spring Valley
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
      • Spring Valley is also located in Grayson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Valley
    • Twin Oaks
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Twin Oaks is located in Alleghany County (NC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twin Oaks

How Far From Boyer Ferry to ...

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

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<3> beginning in Boyer Ferry and extending to:

  • Independence, which is the Seat of Grayson County, lies just to the West.
  • Richmond, which is the State Capital of Virginia, lies 208 miles [334.7 km]<3> to the east northeast (ENE). If you could drive a straight line from Boyer Ferry 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 269 miles [432.9 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take four to five hours, a buggy would take 11 days and walking would take 16 days.
  • The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,167 miles [9,924.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,872 miles [11,059.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,749 miles [7,642.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>

Footnotes ...

<1>GPS Coordinates for Boyer Ferry:
     Decimal: 36.61207, -81.045639
     DDMMSS: 36° 36' 43", -81° 2' 44"
<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- Boyer Ferry) 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 Boyer Ferry 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 Boyer Ferry. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 36.6121, Longitude: -81.0456       In this case, the coordinates for Boyer Ferry have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 310.335 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 305.884 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 307.165 degrees.