Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Hale Creek, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Hale Creek and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Hale Creek
- 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 Hale Creek:
- 37.261223, -81.942624
- 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 Hale Creek
- 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 Buchanan County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Buchanan County
- Since Hale Creek is near McDowell County and also Tazewell County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for McDowell County
- eBird sighting report for Tazewell 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
Curious and Interesting Names Near Hale Creek ...
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.
- Dwight
(Less than 2 miles to the east) - Hanger
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest) - Horn
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast) - Janey
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Janey
- Janey is located in Buchanan County
- Marvin
(5 miles [8 km] to the south) - Mount Heron
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mount Heron have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Heron
- Mount Heron is located in Buchanan County
- Page
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest) - Shack Mills
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shack Mills have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shack Mills
- Shack Mills is located in Buchanan County
- Slate
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north) - Stacy
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
How Far From Hale Creek 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 Hale Creek to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<2> beginning in Hale Creek and extending to:
- Grundy, which is the Seat of Buchanan County, lies just to the West.
- Richmond, which is the State Capital of Virginia, lies 247 miles [397.5 km]<2> to the east (E). If you could drive a straight line from Hale Creek to Richmond, with an average speed<3>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take nearly four hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 14 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 10 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 289 miles [465.1 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take four to five hours, a buggy would take 12 days and walking would take 17 days.
- The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,175 miles [9,937.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,886 miles [11,081.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,761 miles [7,662.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Hale Creek. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for State of Virginia: https://www.virginia.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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. |
| <2> | 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- Hale Creek) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Hale Creek. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 37.2612, Longitude: -81.9426 In this case, the coordinates for Hale Creek have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <3> | 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. |
| <4> | 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 Hale Creek to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <5> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 310.863 degrees. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 306.584 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 307.337 degrees. |