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Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in First Ford, we use the following websites to find information relevant to First Ford 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 First Ford:
- 37.266509, -80.963138
- 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 First Ford
- 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 Giles County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- Open the eBird sighting report for Giles County
- Since First Ford is near Bland County and also Mercer County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- Open the eBird sighting report for Bland County
- Open the eBird sighting report for Mercer 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 First Ford
Curious and Interesting Names Near First Ford ...
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.
- Blake ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Blake is located in Mercer County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blake
- French
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- French is located in Giles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for French
- Hardy
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Hardy is located in Mercer County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hardy
- Hatcher
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Hatcher is located in Mercer County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hatcher
- Holly Brook
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Holly Brook is located in Bland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holly Brook
- Kellysville
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Kellysville is located in Mercer County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kellysville
- Pumpkin Center
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Pumpkin Center is located in Bland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pumpkin Center
- Round Bottom
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Round Bottom is located in Bland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Round Bottom
How Far From First Ford 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 First Ford to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<1> beginning in First Ford and extending to:
- Pearisburg, which is the Seat of Giles County, lies 13 miles [20.9 km]<1> to the east northeast. If you could walk a straight line from First Ford to Pearisburg, with an average speed<2> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take 6 hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take four to five hours.
- Richmond, which is the State Capital of Virginia, lies 194 miles [312.2 km] to the east (E). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take a little over three hours, a buggy would take 8 days and walking would take 11 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 241 miles [387.9 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take nearly four hours, a buggy would take 10 days and walking would take 14 days.
- The shortest distance<3> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,134 miles [9,871.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<4>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,842 miles [11,011.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,718 miles [7,592.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>'
Footnotes ...
| <1> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- First Ford) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <2> | 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. |
| <3> | 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 First Ford 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 First Ford. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 37.2665, Longitude: -80.9631 In this case, the coordinates for First Ford have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <4> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 310.278 degrees. |
| <5> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 305.915 degrees. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 306.926 degrees. |
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