RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Virginia >> Lee County >> Gibson Station >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Gibson Station, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Gibson Station 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 Gibson Station:
    • 36.604250, -83.597412
    • 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 Gibson Station
  • 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 Lee County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Lee County
    • Since Gibson Station is near Claiborne County and also Bell County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Claiborne County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Bell 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 Gibson Station

Curious and Interesting Names Near Gibson Station ...

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.

  • Arthur
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Arthur is located in Claiborne County (TN)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arthur
  • Cave Spring
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Cave Spring is located in Claiborne County (TN)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cave Spring
  • Combs
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Combs is located in Claiborne County (TN)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Combs
  • Cubage
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Cubage is located in Bell County (KY)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cubage
  • Duo
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Duo is located in Claiborne County (TN)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duo
  • Ferndale
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Ferndale is located in Bell County (KY)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ferndale
  • Forge Ridge
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Forge Ridge is located in Claiborne County (TN)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forge Ridge
  • Hopewell
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Hopewell is located in Claiborne County (TN)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hopewell
  • Little Creek
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Little Creek is located in Claiborne County (TN)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Creek
  • Mason Springs
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Mason Springs is located in Claiborne County (TN)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mason Springs
  • Murphy Mill
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Murphy Mill is located in Claiborne County (TN)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Murphy Mill
  • Oak Grove
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Oak Grove is located in Claiborne County (TN)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Grove
  • Continue List   (5 more) ...
    • Oaks
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
      • Oaks is located in Bell County (KY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oaks
    • Poplar Grove
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Poplar Grove is located in Claiborne County (TN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poplar Grove
    • Red Hill
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
      • Red Hill is located in Claiborne County (TN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Hill
    • River View
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
      • River View is located in Claiborne County (TN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for River View
    • Stony Fork Junction
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Stony Fork Junction is located in Bell County (KY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stony Fork Junction

How Far From Gibson Station 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 Gibson Station to various places of note, such as the White House.

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

  • Jonesville, which is the Seat of Lee County, lies 27 miles [43.5 km]<1> to the east northeast. If you could walk a straight line from Gibson Station to Jonesville, with an average speed<2> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take just about two full days to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take just over a day.
  • Richmond, which is the State Capital of Virginia, lies 345 miles [555.2 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take five to six hours, a buggy would take 14 days and walking would take 20 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 391 miles [629.3 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take most of a day, a buggy would take 16 days and walking would take 23 days.
  • The shortest distance<3> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,274 miles [10,097 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<4>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,986 miles [11,242.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,861 miles [7,823 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- Gibson Station) 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 Gibson Station 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 Gibson Station. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 36.6043, Longitude: -83.5974       In this case, the coordinates for Gibson Station have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<4>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 311.859 degrees.
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 307.629 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 308.223 degrees.