RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Maryland >> Frederick County >> Fox Pass >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).

When in Fox Pass, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Fox Pass and the surrounding area.

  • Weather ...
  • 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 Fox Pass:
    • 39.457324, -77.253316
    • 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.
    • Open the Heavens-Above website centered on Fox Pass
  • 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 Frederick County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Frederick County
    • Since Fox Pass is near Carroll County and also Howard County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Carroll County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Howard 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:
    • Open the Waymark.com report for Fox Pass

Curious and Interesting Names Near Fox Pass ...

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.

  • Burrier Knob
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Burrier Knob is located in Frederick County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burrier Knob
  • Campers Hill
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Campers Hill is located in Frederick County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Campers Hill
  • Chestnut Grove
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Chestnut Grove is located in Frederick County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chestnut Grove
  • Heise
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Heise is located in Frederick County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heise
  • Hickory Hill
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Hickory Hill is located in Frederick County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hickory Hill
  • Islands of Balmoral
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Islands of Balmoral is located in Frederick County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Islands of Balmoral
  • Liberty Forest
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Liberty Forest is located in Frederick County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty Forest
  • Liberty Knolls
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Liberty Knolls is located in Frederick County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty Knolls
  • Libertytown
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Libertytown is located in Frederick County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Libertytown
  • Meadows
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Meadows is located in Frederick County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadows
  • Mount Pleasant
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Mount Pleasant is located in Frederick County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Pleasant
  • Peace and Plenty
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Peace and Plenty is located in Frederick County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peace and Plenty
  • Continue List   (8 more) ...
    • Pleasant Heights
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
      • Pleasant Heights is located in Frederick County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Heights
    • Pleasant Oaks
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
      • Pleasant Oaks is located in Frederick County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Oaks
    • Pleasant Ridge
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
      • Pleasant Ridge is located in Frederick County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Ridge
    • Scouts Knoll
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
      • Scouts Knoll is located in Frederick County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scouts Knoll
    • Silver Hill
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
      • Silver Hill is located in Frederick County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver Hill
    • Ten Oaks
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
      • Ten Oaks is located in Frederick County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ten Oaks
    • Unionville
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
      • Unionville is located in Frederick County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Unionville
    • Winter Springs
      (Less than 2 miles to the north)
      • Winter Springs is located in Frederick County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winter Springs

How Far From Fox Pass 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 Fox Pass to various places of note, such as the White House.

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<1> beginning in Fox Pass and extending to:

  • Frederick, which is the Seat of Frederick County, lies just to the West Southwest.
  • Annapolis, which is the State Capital of Maryland, lies 52 miles [83.7 km]<1> to the southeast (SE). If you could walk a straight line from Fox Pass to Annapolis, with an average speed<2> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take most of three days to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take over two days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 40 miles [64.4 km] to the south southeast (SSE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than an hour, a buggy would take just about two full days and walking would take over two days.
  • The shortest distance<3> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,883 miles [9,467.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<4>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,591 miles [10,607.2 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<5>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,467 miles [7,188.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>'

Footnotes ...

<1>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- Fox Pass) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<2>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.
<3>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 Fox Pass to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Fox Pass. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 39.4573, Longitude: -77.2533       In this case, the coordinates for Fox Pass have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<4>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 307.981 degrees.
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 303.63 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 304.589 degrees.