Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Ruby, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Ruby and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Ruby
- 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 Ruby:
- 31.189353, -92.248741
- 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 Ruby
- 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 parish-by-parish basis. We have selected Rapides Parish as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Rapides Parish
- Since Ruby is near Avoyelles Parish and also Evangeline Parish, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Avoyelles Parish
- eBird sighting report for Evangeline Parish
- 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
Communities Also Named Ruby ...
We found 32 communities that share the name Ruby.
Within Louisiana, the name Ruby is unique.
Beyond Louisiana, we know of another 32 communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these 32 communities, 31 are located in the United States and one is in Canada.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Alabama
- Cullman County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<1> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Alabama community of Ruby [Cullman County].
- Walker County
- This community is historic<2> and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Alabama community of Ruby [Walker County].
- Alaska
- This Ruby lies 3,504 miles [5,639.1 km]<3> to the north northwest of the Ruby that is located in Rapides Parish.
- Arizona
- Colorado
- Gunnison County
- This Ruby is located in Gunnison County and lies 990 miles [1,593.3 km]<3> to the northwest of the Ruby that is located in Rapides Parish.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Gunnison County community of Ruby.
- Mesa County
- This Ruby is located in Mesa County and lies 1,089 miles [1,752.6 km] to the northwest of the Ruby that is located in Rapides Parish.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Mesa County community of Ruby.
- Pitkin County
- This community is historic<2> and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Colorado community of Ruby [Pitkin County].
- Georgia
- Irwin County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<1> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Georgia community of Ruby [Irwin County].
- Jones County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Georgia community of Ruby [Jones County].
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Kansas
- Harper County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<1> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Kansas community of Ruby [Harper County].
- Sedgwick County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Kansas community of Ruby [Sedgwick County].
- Kentucky
- Michigan
- Mississippi
- Copiah County
- This Ruby is located in Copiah County and lies 128 miles [206 km]<3> to the east northeast of the Ruby that is located in Rapides Parish.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Copiah County community of Ruby.
- Leflore County
- This Ruby is located in Leflore County and lies 209 miles [336.4 km] to the north northeast of the Ruby that is located in Rapides Parish.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Leflore County community of Ruby.
- Montana
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- New York
- North Dakota
- Ohio
- Ontario
- This Ruby lies 1,273 miles [2,048.7 km]<3> to the north northeast of the Ruby that is located in Rapides Parish.
- Oregon
- South Carolina
- Virginia
- Washington
- Benton County
- This Ruby is located in Benton County and lies 1,779 miles [2,863 km]<3> to the northwest of the Ruby that is located in Rapides Parish.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Benton County community of Ruby.
- Okanogan County
- This community is historic<2> and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Washington community of Ruby [Okanogan County].
- Pend Oreille County
- This Ruby is located in Pend Oreille County and lies 1,772 miles [2,851.8 km] to the northwest of the Ruby that is located in Rapides Parish.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Pend Oreille County community of Ruby.
- Whatcom County
- This community is historic and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Washington community of Ruby [Whatcom County].
- Wisconsin
- Alabama
Curious and Interesting Names Near Ruby ...
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.
- Bijou
(5 miles [8 km] to the south) - Cassandra
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east) - Cedar Grove
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cedar Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Grove
- Cedar Grove is located in Rapides Parish
- Center Point
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Center Point have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Center Point
- Center Point is located in Avoyelles Parish
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Center Point <5>
- David Ferry
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for David Ferry have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for David Ferry
- David Ferry is located in Avoyelles Parish
- Echo
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Echo
- Echo is located in Rapides Parish
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Echo <5>
- Effie
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Effie
- Effie is located in Avoyelles Parish
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Effie <5>
- Egg Bend
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast) - Fifth Ward
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fifth Ward have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fifth Ward
- Fifth Ward is located in Avoyelles Parish
- Harris Ferry
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Harris Ferry have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harris Ferry
- Harris Ferry is located in Rapides Parish
- Poland
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest) - Stonewalls ‑ Historic
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Stonewalls have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stonewalls
- Stonewalls is located in Rapides Parish
How Far From Ruby 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 community such as Ruby to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Ruby and extending to:
- Alexandria, which is the Seat of Rapides Parish, lies 14 miles [22.5 km]<3> to the northwest. If you could walk a straight line from Ruby to Alexandria, with an average speed<6> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take most of a day to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take four to five hours.
- Baton Rouge, which is the State Capital of Louisiana, lies 82 miles [132 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 most of three days and walking would take 5 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 1,009 miles [1,623.8 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take over two days, a buggy would take 40 days and walking would take 58 days.
- The shortest distance<7> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,889 miles [11,086.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,605 miles [12,239.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,481 miles [8,820.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<10>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Ruby. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Rapides Parish: www.rppj.com/
The official website for State of Louisiana: louisiana.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | If we encounter the name of what might be a community, our methodology is to add that name to our Gazetteer as a placeholder. As we find more information about that community, it will be added to our Gazetteer. Just as a reminder: Our definition of a community is rather broad and includes those places (or areas) where several families lived and had a name which identified that place. For example, you might hear somebody say that they are going over to Mile's to see Pete ... Mile's is just a gas station and a couple of homes at the crossroads. While it might not be on the map, everybody in the area knows it by that name. Places of interest include buildings at a crossroad, several families clustered in a hollow or maybe the location of a way station. It also includes places like mines, lumber camps, ferry crossings, etc. The community might still exist, is now gone or only existed for just a short period of time. Also keep in mind that Ruby could have been on the original document by mistake, misspelled, the original/alternate name of a community that we've listed elsewhere or was placed in the wrong parish. Sometimes a post office or train station would have a different name than the community where it's located, so two names might be referring to the same community - we're working to straighten it all out. |
| <2> | We use the term 'Historic' broadly and it generally means that the community no longer exists. However, it can also mean that the community might still exist, but was significantly larger or had a more 'official' existence in the past than it does now. Unfortunately our sources of data have proven to be unreliable. If you can provide us with more specific information about Ruby, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <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 drawn from Point A (ie- Ruby) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Ruby. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 31.1894, Longitude: -92.2487 In this case, the coordinates for Ruby have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <4> | 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. |
| <5> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <6> | 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. |
| <7> | 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 Ruby to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 316.803 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 312.605 degrees. |
| <10> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 312.907 degrees. |