Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Vesta, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Vesta and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Vesta
- 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 Vesta:
- 36.716803, -80.357837
- 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 Vesta
- 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 Patrick County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Patrick County
- Since Vesta is near Floyd County and also Carroll County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Floyd County
- eBird sighting report for Carroll 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
Communities Also Named Vesta ...
We found twelve communities that share the name Vesta.
Within Virginia, the name Vesta is unique.
Beyond Virginia, we know of another twelve communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these twelve communities, eleven are located in the United States and one is in Canada.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Arkansas
- Georgia
- Indiana
- Kansas
- Minnesota
- Nebraska
- North Dakota
- Ontario
- This Vesta lies 523 miles [841.7 km]<1> to the north of the Vesta that is located in Patrick County.
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Sabine County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<2> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Texas community of Vesta [Sabine County].
- Shackelford County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Texas community of Vesta [Shackelford County].
- Washington
Curious and Interesting Names Near Vesta ...
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.
- Buffalo Ridge
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Buffalo Ridge have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buffalo Ridge
- Buffalo Ridge is located in Patrick County
- Charity
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast) - Dry Pond
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south) - Elamsville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Elamsville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elamsville
- Elamsville is located in Patrick County
- Five Forks
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Five Forks have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Five Forks
- Five Forks is located in Patrick County
- Meadowfield
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Meadowfield have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadowfield
- Meadowfield is located in Patrick County
- Meadows of Dan
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadows of Dan
- Meadows of Dan is located in Patrick County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Meadows of Dan <4>
- Patrick Springs
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Patrick Springs
- Patrick Springs is located in Patrick County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Patrick Springs <4>
- Peters Creek
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peters Creek
- Peters Creek is located in Patrick County
- Pike City
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west) - Union
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest) - Woolwine
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woolwine
- Woolwine is located in Patrick County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Woolwine <4>
How Far From Vesta 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 community such as Vesta to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Vesta and extending to:
- Stuart, which is the Seat of Patrick County, lies just to the Southeast.
- Richmond, which is the State Capital of Virginia, lies 170 miles [273.6 km]<1> to the east northeast (ENE). If you could drive a straight line from Vesta to Richmond, with an average speed<5>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take about three hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 10 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 7 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 235 miles [378.2 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take nearly four hours, a buggy would take 10 days and walking would take 14 days.
- The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,133 miles [9,870.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,837 miles [11,003.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,714 miles [7,586.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Vesta. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Patrick County: www.co.patrick.va.us/
The official website for State of Virginia: https://www.virginia.gov/
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 drawn from Point A (ie- Vesta) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Vesta. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 36.7168, Longitude: -80.3578 In this case, the coordinates for Vesta have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <2> | If we encounter the name of what might be a community, our methodology is to add that name to our Gazetteer as a placeholder. As we find more information about that community, it will be added to our Gazetteer. Just as a reminder: Our definition of a community is rather broad and includes those places (or areas) where several families lived and had a name which identified that place. For example, you might hear somebody say that they are going over to Mile's to see Pete ... Mile's is just a gas station and a couple of homes at the crossroads. While it might not be on the map, everybody in the area knows it by that name. Places of interest include buildings at a crossroad, several families clustered in a hollow or maybe the location of a way station. It also includes places like mines, lumber camps, ferry crossings, etc. The community might still exist, is now gone or only existed for just a short period of time. Also keep in mind that Vesta could have been on the original document by mistake, misspelled, the original/alternate name of a community that we've listed elsewhere or was placed in the wrong county. Sometimes a post office or train station would have a different name than the community where it's located, so two names might be referring to the same community - we're working to straighten it all out. |
| <3> | 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. |
| <4> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <5> | 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. |
| <6> | 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 Vesta to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 309.928 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 305.435 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 306.852 degrees. |