Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Roberts Mill, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Roberts Mill and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Roberts Mill
- 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 Roberts Mill:
- 36.774284, -81.438722
- 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 Roberts Mill
- 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 Smyth County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Smyth County
- Since Roberts Mill is near Grayson County and also Wythe County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Grayson County
- eBird sighting report for Wythe 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 Roberts Mill ...
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.
- Flat Ridge
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Flat Ridge have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flat Ridge
- Flat Ridge is located in Grayson County
- Furnace Hill
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Furnace Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Furnace Hill
- Furnace Hill is located in Smyth County
- Grant
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south) - Horseshoe Bend
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Horseshoe Bend have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Horseshoe Bend
- Horseshoe Bend is located in Smyth County
- Marion
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Marion have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marion
- Marion is located in Smyth County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 5,555 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Marion <2>
- Shady Grove
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shady Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shady Grove
- Shady Grove is located in Smyth County
- Slabtown
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest) - Stony Battery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Stony Battery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stony Battery
- Stony Battery is located in Smyth County
- Sugar Grove
(Less than 2 miles to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sugar Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sugar Grove
- Sugar Grove is located in Smyth County
- Trout Dale
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trout Dale
- Trout Dale is located in Grayson County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 165 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Trout Dale <2>
How Far From Roberts Mill 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 Roberts Mill to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<3> beginning in Roberts Mill and extending to:
- Marion, which is the Seat of Smyth County, lies just to the Northwest.
- Richmond, which is the State Capital of Virginia, lies 226 miles [363.7 km]<3> to the east northeast (ENE). If you could drive a straight line from Roberts Mill to Richmond, with an average speed<4>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 13 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 9 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 281 miles [452.2 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take four to five hours, a buggy would take 11 days and walking would take 16 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,176 miles [9,939.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,883 miles [11,077.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,760 miles [7,660.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Roberts Mill. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Smyth County: www.smythcounty.org/
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- Roberts Mill) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Roberts Mill. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 36.7743, Longitude: -81.4387 In this case, the coordinates for Roberts Mill 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 Roberts Mill 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 310.566 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 306.173 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 307.276 degrees. |