Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Ricks, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Ricks and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Ricks
- 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 Ricks:
- 34.058988, -85.683575
- 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 Ricks
- 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 Cherokee County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Cherokee County
- Since Ricks is near Etowah County and also Calhoun County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Etowah County
- eBird sighting report for Calhoun 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 Ricks ...
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.
- Ballplay
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ballplay
- Ballplay is located in Etowah County
- Centre
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centre
- Centre is located in Cherokee County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,616 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Centre <1>
- Dixon Shop
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dixon Shop have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dixon Shop
- Dixon Shop is located in Cherokee County
- Frog Mountain
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Frog Mountain have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frog Mountain
- Frog Mountain is located in Cherokee County
- Gnatville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south) - Maple Grove
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Maple Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maple Grove
- Maple Grove is located in Cherokee County
- Noah
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast) - Pope
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east) - Tucker Crossroads
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tucker Crossroads
- Tucker Crossroads is located in Cherokee County
- Turkey Town ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Turkey Town have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turkey Town
- Turkey Town is located in Cherokee County
- Wood Ferry
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wood Ferry have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wood Ferry
- Wood Ferry is located in Cherokee County
How Far From Ricks 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 Ricks to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers and using the location of where the historic<3> community of Ricks once stood, the straight-line distance<4> beginning in Ricks and extending to:
- Centre, which is the Seat of Cherokee County, lies just to the North.
- Montgomery, which is the State Capital of Alabama, lies 121 miles [194.7 km]<4> to the south southwest (SSW). If you could drive a straight line from Ricks to Montgomery, with an average speed<5>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take about two hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 7 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 5 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 584 miles [939.9 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take just over a day, a buggy would take 23 days and walking would take 34 days.
- The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,479 miles [10,426.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,187 miles [11,566.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,063 miles [8,148.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for State of Alabama: https://www.alabama.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <2> | 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. |
| <3> | We use the term 'Historic' broadly and it generally means that the community no longer exists. However, it can also mean that the community might still exist, but was significantly larger or had a more 'official' existence in the past than it does now. Unfortunately our sources of data have proven to be unreliable. If you can provide us with more specific information about Ricks, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | 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- Ricks) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Ricks. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 34.0590, Longitude: -85.6836 In this case, the coordinates for Ricks have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <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 Ricks 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 313.035 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 308.623 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 309.728 degrees. |