Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Rifle, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Rifle and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Rifle
- 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 Rifle:
- 39.533523, -107.783345
- 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 Rifle
- 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 Garfield County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Garfield County
- Since Rifle is near Rio Blanco County and also Mesa County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Rio Blanco County
- eBird sighting report for Mesa 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 Rifle ...
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.
- Antlers
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east) - Anvil Points
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Anvil Points have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anvil Points
- Anvil Points is located in Garfield County
- Carbonate ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast) - Cattle Creek
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cattle Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cattle Creek
- Cattle Creek is located in Garfield County
- Grizzly
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east) - Lacy
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west) - No Name
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east) - Parachute
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parachute
- Parachute is located in Garfield County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,114 people
- Former name for Parachute:
- Grand Valley
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Parachute <2>
- Plateau City
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Plateau City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plateau City
- Plateau City is located in Mesa County
- Silt
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Silt have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silt
- Silt is located in Garfield County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,109 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Silt <2>
How Far From Rifle 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 city such as Rifle to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<3> beginning in Rifle and extending to:
- Glenwood Springs, which is the Seat of Garfield County, lies 24 miles [38.6 km]<3> to the east. If you could walk a straight line from Rifle to Glenwood Springs, with an average speed<4> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take just about two full days to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take most of a day.
- Denver, which is the State Capital of Colorado, lies 149 miles [239.8 km] to the east (E). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than three hours, a buggy would take 6 days and walking would take 9 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 1,637 miles [2,634.5 km] to the east (E). Driving would take most of three days, a buggy would take 64 days and walking would take 93 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,964 miles [11,207.5 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 7,730 miles [12,440.2 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,674 miles [9,131.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Rifle: www.rifleco.org/
The official website for Garfield County: www.garfield-county.com/
The official website for State of Colorado: https://www.colorado.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 '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- Rifle) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Rifle. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 39.5335, Longitude: -107.7833 In this case, the coordinates for Rifle 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 Rifle 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 328.62 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 327.476 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 319.529 degrees. |