Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Rafael Village, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Rafael Village and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Rafael Village
- 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 Rafael Village:
- 38.068810, -122.549702
- 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 Rafael Village
- 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 Marin County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Marin County
- Since Rafael Village is near Sonoma County and also Contra Costa County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Sonoma County
- eBird sighting report for Contra Costa 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 Rafael Village ...
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.
- Fairville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast) - Forest Knolls
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest Knolls
- Forest Knolls is located in Marin County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Forest Knolls <2>
- Golf ‑ Historic
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south) - Greenwood ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast) - Kent Woodlands
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kent Woodlands have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kent Woodlands
- Kent Woodlands is located in Marin County
- Lakeville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north) - Larkspur
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Larkspur
- Larkspur is located in Marin County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 12,236 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Larkspur <2>
- Lucas Valley
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lucas Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lucas Valley
- Lucas Valley is located in Marin County
- Manor
(5 miles [8 km] to the south) - Rose ‑ Historic
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast) - Sleepy Hollow
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sleepy Hollow have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sleepy Hollow
- Sleepy Hollow is located in Marin County
How Far From Rafael Village 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 Rafael Village to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<3> beginning in Rafael Village and extending to:
- San Rafael, which is the Seat of Marin County, lies just to the South.
- Sacramento, which is the State Capital of California, lies 67 miles [107.8 km]<3> to the east northeast (ENE). If you could walk a straight line from Rafael Village to Sacramento, with an average speed<4> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take three full days to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take about three full days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 2,434 miles [3,917.1 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take 5 days, a buggy would take 95 days and walking would take 139 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 7,398 miles [11,905.9 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 8,164 miles [13,138.7 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 6,224 miles [10,016.6 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Rafael Village. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Marin County: www.co.marin.ca.us/
The official website for State of California: https://www.ca.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' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Rafael Village) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Rafael Village. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 38.0688, Longitude: -122.5497 In this case, the coordinates for Rafael Village 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 Rafael Village 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 340.345 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 341.34 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 328.247 degrees. |