RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Maryland >> Carroll County >> Richardson Ridge >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Richardson Ridge, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Richardson Ridge 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 Richardson Ridge:
    • 39.629267, -77.069149
    • 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 Richardson Ridge
  • 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 Carroll County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Carroll County
    • Since Richardson Ridge is near Adams County and also Frederick County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Adams County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Frederick 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 Richardson Ridge

Curious and Interesting Names Near Richardson Ridge ...

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.

  • Bear Run
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Bear Run is located in Carroll County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bear Run
  • Daisy Ridge
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Daisy Ridge is located in Carroll County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Daisy Ridge
  • Fountain Valley
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Fountain Valley is located in Carroll County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fountain Valley
  • Hidden Oaks
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Hidden Oaks is located in Carroll County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hidden Oaks
  • Joseph Meadows
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Joseph Meadows is located in Carroll County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Joseph Meadows
  • Locust Neck Heights
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
    • Locust Neck Heights is located in Carroll County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Locust Neck Heights
  • Mayberry
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Mayberry is located in Carroll County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mayberry
  • Mount Pleasant
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Mount Pleasant is located in Carroll County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Pleasant
  • Pipe Creek Mill
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Pipe Creek Mill is located in Carroll County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pipe Creek Mill
  • Shoemakers Lot
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Shoemakers Lot is located in Carroll County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shoemakers Lot
  • Silver Hills
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Silver Hills is located in Carroll County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver Hills
  • Silver Run
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Silver Run is located in Carroll County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver Run
  • Continue List   (4 more) ...
    • Sunset Vista
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
      • Sunset Vista is located in Carroll County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunset Vista
    • Union Mills
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Union Mills is located in Carroll County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union Mills
    • Uniontown
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Uniontown is located in Carroll County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Uniontown
    • Wolfs Mill
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Wolfs Mill is located in Carroll County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wolfs Mill

How Far From Richardson Ridge 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 Richardson Ridge to various places of note, such as the White House.

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

  • Westminster, which is the Seat of Carroll County, lies just to the Southeast.
  • Annapolis, which is the State Capital of Maryland, lies 54 miles [86.9 km]<1> to the southeast (SE). If you could walk a straight line from Richardson Ridge 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 50 miles [80.5 km] to the south (S). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than an hour, a buggy would take most of two days and walking would take most of three days.
  • The shortest distance<3> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,868 miles [9,443.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<4>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,576 miles [10,583 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<5>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,452 miles [7,164.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>'

Footnotes ...

<1>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Richardson Ridge) 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 Richardson Ridge 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 Richardson Ridge. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 39.6293, Longitude: -77.0691       In this case, the coordinates for Richardson Ridge have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<4>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 307.86 degrees.
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 303.519 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 304.443 degrees.