Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Blue Rapids, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Blue Rapids and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Blue Rapids
- 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 Blue Rapids:
- 39.679375, -96.659585
- 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 Blue Rapids
- 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 Marshall County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Marshall County
- Since Blue Rapids is near Washington County and also Pottawatomie County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Washington County
- eBird sighting report for Pottawatomie 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 Blue Rapids ...
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.
- Bestwall
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north) - Blaine
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blaine
- Blaine is located in Pottawatomie County
- Cottage Hill
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cottage Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cottage Hill
- Cottage Hill is located in Marshall County
- Greenleaf
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Greenleaf have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenleaf
- Greenleaf is located in Washington County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 303 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Greenleaf <2>
- Hermansberg
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hermansberg have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hermansberg
- Hermansberg is located in Marshall County
- Home
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Home have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Home
- Home is located in Marshall County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Home <2>
- Lone Elm
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north) - Marysville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marysville
- Marysville is located in Marshall County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,251 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Marysville <2>
- May Day
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for May Day
- May Day is located in Riley County
- Randolph
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Randolph
- Randolph is located in Riley County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 156 people
- Reedsville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Reedsville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reedsville
- Reedsville is located in Marshall County
- Reedsville has also been known as:
- Hazelville
How Far From Blue Rapids 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 city such as Blue Rapids to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<3> beginning in Blue Rapids and extending to:
- Marysville, which is the Seat of Marshall County, lies 11 miles [17.7 km]<3> to the north. If you could walk a straight line from Blue Rapids to Marysville, with an average speed<4> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take five to six hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take nearly four hours.
- Topeka, which is the State Capital of Kansas, lies 68 miles [109.4 km] to the southeast (SE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than two hours, a buggy would take about three full days and walking would take three full days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 1,048 miles [1,686.6 km] to the east (E). Driving would take over two days, a buggy would take 41 days and walking would take 60 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,613 miles [10,642.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,363 miles [11,849.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,260 miles [8,465.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Blue Rapids. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for State of Kansas: https://portal.kansas.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' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Blue Rapids) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Blue Rapids. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 39.6794, Longitude: -96.6596 In this case, the coordinates for Blue Rapids 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 Blue Rapids 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 320.505 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 318.011 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 313.596 degrees. |