Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Ross Prairie, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Ross Prairie and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Ross Prairie
- 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 Ross Prairie:
- 29.074700, -82.247039
- 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 Ross Prairie
- 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 Marion County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Marion County
- Since Ross Prairie is near Citrus County and also Sumter County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Citrus County
- eBird sighting report for Sumter 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 Ross Prairie ...
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.
- Cotton Plant
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cotton Plant have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cotton Plant
- Cotton Plant is located in Marion County
- Danks Corner
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Danks Corner
- Danks Corner is located in Marion County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Danks Corner <2>
- Leroy ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest) - Marion Oaks
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Marion Oaks have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marion Oaks
- Marion Oaks is located in Marion County
- Rainbow Park
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rainbow Park have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rainbow Park
- Rainbow Park is located in Marion County
- Rocksprings
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rocksprings have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rocksprings
- Rocksprings is located in Marion County
- Rolling Hills
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rolling Hills have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rolling Hills
- Rolling Hills is located in Marion County
- Saddle Oak Club
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Saddle Oak Club have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saddle Oak Club
- Saddle Oak Club is located in Marion County
- Shady
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
How Far From Ross Prairie 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 Ross Prairie to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<3> beginning in Ross Prairie and extending to:
- Ocala, which is the Seat of Marion County, lies 10 miles [16.1 km]<3> to the northeast. If you could walk a straight line from Ross Prairie to Ocala, with an average speed<4> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take four to five hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take a little over three hours.
- Tallahassee, which is the State Capital of Florida, lies 154 miles [247.8 km] to the northwest (NW). 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 740 miles [1,190.9 km] to the north northeast (NNE). Driving would take just about two full days, a buggy would take 29 days and walking would take 42 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,558 miles [10,554.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,232 miles [11,638.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,127 miles [8,251.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Ross Prairie. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Marion County: www.marioncountyfl.org/
The official website for State of Florida: www.myflorida.com/
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- Ross Prairie) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Ross Prairie. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 29.0747, Longitude: -82.2470 In this case, the coordinates for Ross Prairie 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 Ross Prairie 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 310.797 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 305.344 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 309.586 degrees. |