Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Ruston, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Ruston and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Ruston
- 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 Ruston:
- 32.532323, -92.637101
- 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 Ruston
- 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 Lincoln Parish as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Lincoln Parish
- Since Ruston is near Jackson Parish and also Union Parish, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Jackson Parish
- eBird sighting report for Union 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 Ruston ...
We found one communities that share the name Ruston.
Within Louisiana, the name Ruston is unique.
Beyond Louisiana, there is another community also named Ruston in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
Curious and Interesting Names Near Ruston ...
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.
- Cartwright
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cartwright have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cartwright
- Cartwright is located in Jackson Parish
- Clay
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south) - Cooktown
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest) - Hilly
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north) - Longstraw
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast) - Mineral Springs
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mineral Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mineral Springs
- Mineral Springs is located in Lincoln Parish
- Pleasant Hill
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pleasant Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Hill
- Pleasant Hill is located in Lincoln Parish
- Redwine ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest) - Rock Corner
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rock Corner have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock Corner
- Rock Corner is located in Lincoln Parish
- Unionville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Unionville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Unionville
- Unionville is located in Lincoln Parish
How Far From Ruston 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 Ruston to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Ruston and extending to:
- Baton Rouge, which is the State Capital of Louisiana, lies 168 miles [270.4 km]<1> to the south southeast (SSE). If you could drive a straight line from Ruston to Baton Rouge, with an average speed<3>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take about three hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 10 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 7 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 977 miles [1,572.3 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take most of two days, a buggy would take 39 days and walking would take 56 days.
- The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,837 miles [11,003.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,559 miles [12,165 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,434 miles [8,745.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Ruston: www.ruston.org/
The official website for Lincoln Parish: www.lincolnparish.org/
The official website for State of Louisiana: louisiana.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Ruston) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Ruston. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 32.5323, Longitude: -92.6371 In this case, the coordinates for Ruston have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <2> | 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. |
| <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 Ruston to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <5> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 317.199 degrees. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 313.245 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 312.878 degrees. |