|
Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Rancho del Sol, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Rancho del Sol and the surrounding area.
- 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 Rancho del Sol:
- 38.720182, -120.652707
- 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 Rancho del Sol
- 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 El Dorado County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- Open the eBird sighting report for El Dorado County
- Since Rancho del Sol is near Amador County and also Placer County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- Open the eBird sighting report for Amador County
- Open the eBird sighting report for Placer 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 Rancho del Sol
Curious and Interesting Names Near Rancho del Sol ...
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.
- Cedar Grove
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Cedar Grove is located in El Dorado County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Grove
- Ditch Camp Five
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Ditch Camp Five is located in El Dorado County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ditch Camp Five
- Five Mile Terrace
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Five Mile Terrace is located in El Dorado County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Five Mile Terrace
- Gold Ridge
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Gold Ridge is located in El Dorado County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gold Ridge
- Happy Valley
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Happy Valley is located in El Dorado County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Happy Valley
- Motor City
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Motor City is located in El Dorado County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Motor City
- Pollock Pines
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Sly Park
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Sly Park is located in El Dorado County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sly Park
- Sportsman Hall ‑ Historic
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Sportsman Hall is located in El Dorado County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sportsman Hall
How Far From Rancho del Sol 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 Rancho del Sol to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<2> beginning in Rancho del Sol and extending to:
- Placerville, which is the Seat of El Dorado County, lies just to the West.
- Sacramento, which is the State Capital of California, lies 45 miles [72.4 km]<2> to the west (W). If you could walk a straight line from Rancho del Sol to Sacramento, with an average speed<3> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take about three full days to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take most of two days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 2,323 miles [3,738.5 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 91 days and walking would take 132 days.
- The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 7,320 miles [11,780.4 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<5>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 8,088 miles [13,016.4 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<6>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 6,131 miles [9,866.9 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<7>'
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> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a '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- Rancho del Sol) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <3> | 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. |
| <4> | 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 Rancho del Sol 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 Rancho del Sol. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 38.7202, Longitude: -120.6527 In this case, the coordinates for Rancho del Sol have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <5> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 338.819 degrees. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 339.541 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 327.077 degrees. |
|
|