Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Hipes, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Hipes and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Hipes
- 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 Hipes:
- 37.654017, -79.916161
- 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 Hipes
- 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 Botetourt County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Botetourt County
- Since Hipes is near Alleghany County and also Craig County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Alleghany County
- eBird sighting report for Craig 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 Hipes ...
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.
- Craigs Creek ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Craigs Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Craigs Creek
- Craigs Creek is located in Craig County
- Daggers Springs
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Daggers Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Daggers Springs
- Daggers Springs is located in Botetourt County
- Eagle Rock
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Eagle Rock have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eagle Rock
- Eagle Rock is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Eagle Rock <2>
- Flatwoods
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south) - Gala
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gala
- Gala is located in Botetourt County
- Hooks Mill
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hooks Mill have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hooks Mill
- Hooks Mill is located in Alleghany County
- Kyles Mills
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kyles Mills have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kyles Mills
- Kyles Mills is located in Botetourt County
- Lignite
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest) - Rich Patch
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rich Patch
- Rich Patch is located in Alleghany County
- Rich Patch Mines
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rich Patch Mines have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rich Patch Mines
- Rich Patch Mines is located in Alleghany County
- Salisbury
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salisbury
- Salisbury is located in Botetourt County
How Far From Hipes 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 Hipes to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<3> beginning in Hipes and extending to:
- Fincastle, which is the Seat of Botetourt County, lies 10 miles [16.1 km]<3> to the south. If you could walk a straight line from Hipes to Fincastle, with an average speed<4> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take four to five hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take a little over three hours.
- Richmond, which is the State Capital of Virginia, lies 135 miles [217.3 km] to the east (E). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than three hours, a buggy would take 6 days and walking would take 8 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 178 miles [286.5 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take a little over three hours, a buggy would take 7 days and walking would take 11 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,073 miles [9,773.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,780 miles [10,911.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,656 miles [7,493.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Hipes. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Botetourt County: www.co.botetourt.va.us/
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> | 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 'straight-line' (or 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- Hipes) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Hipes. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 37.6540, Longitude: -79.9162 In this case, the coordinates for Hipes have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <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 Hipes to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 309.648 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 305.253 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 306.364 degrees. |