Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Rufus, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Rufus and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Rufus
- 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 Rufus:
- 35.998967, -81.641406
- 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 Rufus
- 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 Caldwell County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Caldwell County
- Since Rufus is near Avery County and also Watauga County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Avery County
- eBird sighting report for Watauga 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
Communities Also Named Rufus ...
We found eight communities that share the name Rufus.
Within North Carolina, the name Rufus is unique.
Beyond North Carolina, we know of another eight communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Arkansas
- Georgia
- Kentucky
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Dent County
- Although located in Dent County, we don't know the location within the county.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Dent County community of Rufus.
- Oregon
- Texas
- Wisconsin
Curious and Interesting Names Near Rufus ...
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.
- Apple Ridge
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Apple Ridge have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Apple Ridge
- Apple Ridge is located in Caldwell County
- Falcon Crest
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Falcon Crest have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Falcon Crest
- Falcon Crest is located in Caldwell County
- Globe
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest) - Globe Set ‑ Historic
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south) - Happy Valley
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Happy Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Happy Valley
- Happy Valley is located in Caldwell County
- Honey Hill
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Honey Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Honey Hill
- Honey Hill is located in Caldwell County
- Indian Hills
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Indian Hills have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Hills
- Indian Hills is located in Caldwell County
- Jones ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east) - Maple Grove
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Maple Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maple Grove
- Maple Grove is located in Caldwell County
- Mulberry
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mulberry
- Mulberry is located in Caldwell County
- Tranquil Hill
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tranquil Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tranquil Hill
- Tranquil Hill is located in Caldwell County
- Warrior
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
How Far From Rufus to ...
We spend a lot of time looking through Gazetteers & Almanacs that were published in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Many of the Gazetteers include the distance from a community such as Rufus to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Rufus and extending to:
- Lenoir, which is the Seat of Caldwell County, lies just to the Southeast.
- Raleigh, which is the State Capital of North Carolina, lies 168 miles [270.4 km]<2> to the east (E). If you could drive a straight line from Rufus to Raleigh, with an average speed<4>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 322 miles [518.2 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take five to six hours, a buggy would take 13 days and walking would take 19 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,219 miles [10,008.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,924 miles [11,143.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,801 miles [7,726.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Rufus. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Caldwell County: www.co.caldwell.nc.us/
The official website for State of North Carolina: https://www.nc.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 Rufus 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 county. 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> | 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- Rufus) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Rufus. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 35.9990, Longitude: -81.6414 |
| <3> | 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. |
| <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 Rufus 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 310.688 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 306.20 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 307.592 degrees. |