Outdoor Activities ...

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

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

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

• 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 Franco:
  • 36.976493, -82.420704
  • 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 Franco

• 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 Wise County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
  • Open the eBird sighting report for Wise County
  • Since Franco is near Dickenson County and also Russell County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
  • Open the eBird sighting report for Dickenson County
  • Open the eBird sighting report for Russell 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 Franco

Curious and Interesting Names Near Franco ...

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.

• Bondtown
  (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Bondtown is located in Wise County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bondtown
• Crab Orchard
  (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Crab Orchard is located in Wise County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crab Orchard
• Cranes Nest
  (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
  • Cranes Nest is located in Wise County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cranes Nest
• Dry Fork
  (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Dry Fork is located in Wise County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dry Fork
• Flat Top
  (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  • Flat Top is located in Dickenson County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flat Top
• Herald
  (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
  • Herald is located in Dickenson County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Herald
• Lyons
  (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Lyons is located in Wise County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lyons
• Maytown
  (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Maytown is located in Wise County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maytown
• Riverview
  (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Riverview is located in Wise County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverview
• Rural
  (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Rural is located in Wise County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rural
• Toms Creek
  (Less than 2 miles to the west)
  • Toms Creek is located in Wise County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Toms Creek

How Far From Franco 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 include the distance from a community such as Franco to various places of note, such as the White House.

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

• Wise, which is the Seat of Wise County, lies just to the West.
• Richmond, which is the State Capital of Virginia, lies 276 miles [444.2 km]<1> to the east (E). If you could drive a straight line from Franco to Richmond, with an average speed<2>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take four to five hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 16 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 11 days.
• The White House (Washington, DC) is 321 miles [516.6 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take five to six hours, a buggy would take 13 days and walking would take 19 days.
• The shortest distance<3> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,208 miles [9,990.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<4>
• The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,918 miles [11,133.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
• The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,794 miles [7,715.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>'