RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Virginia >> Grayson County >> Trout Dale >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Trout Dale, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Trout Dale 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 Trout Dale:
    • 36.702159, -81.440584
    • 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 Trout Dale
  • 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 Grayson County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Grayson County
    • Since Trout Dale is near Smyth County and also Ashe County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Smyth County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Ashe 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 Trout Dale

Communities Also Named Trout Dale ...

We found three communities that are also named Trout Dale.

Within Virginia, the name Trout Dale is unique.

Beyond Virginia, we know of three communities that are located in the United States.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Colorado
      • Jefferson County
      • This Trout Dale is located in Jefferson County and lies 1,309 miles [2,106.6 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Trout Dale that is located in Grayson County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Jefferson County community of Trout Dale.
    • Maine
      • Somerset County
      • This Trout Dale is located in Somerset County and lies 845 miles [1,359.9 km]<1> to the northeast of the Trout Dale that is located in Grayson County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Somerset County community of Trout Dale.
    • Oregon
      • Multnomah County
      • This Trout Dale is located in Multnomah County and lies 2,189 miles [3,522.9 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Trout Dale that is located in Grayson County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Multnomah County community of Trout Dale.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Trout Dale ...

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
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Furnace Hill
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Furnace Hill is located in Smyth County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Furnace Hill
  • Grant
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Grant is located in Grayson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grant
  • Roberts Mill
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Roberts Mill is located in Smyth County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roberts Mill
  • Rugby
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Shady Grove
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Shady Grove is located in Smyth County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shady Grove
  • Slabtown
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Slabtown is located in Smyth County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Slabtown
  • Stony Battery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Stony Battery is located in Smyth County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stony Battery
  • Sugar Grove
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)

How Far From Trout Dale to ...

We spend a lot of time looking through Gazetteers that were published in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Many of the Gazetteers include the distance from a town such as Trout Dale to various places of note, such as the White House.

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Trout Dale and extending to:

  • Independence, which is the Seat of Grayson County, lies 16 miles [25.7 km]<1> to the east southeast. If you could walk a straight line from Trout Dale to Independence, with an average speed<2> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take most of a day to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take five to six hours.
  • Richmond, which is the State Capital of Virginia, lies 227 miles [365.3 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take nearly four hours, a buggy would take 9 days and walking would take 13 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 284 miles [457.1 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take four to five hours, a buggy would take 11 days and walking would take 17 days.
  • The shortest distance<3> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,179 miles [9,944.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<4>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,886 miles [11,081.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,763 miles [7,665.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>'

Footnotes ...

<1>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Trout Dale) 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 Trout Dale 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 Trout Dale. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 36.7022, Longitude: -81.4406    
<4>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 310.568 degrees.
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 306.164 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 307.299 degrees.