|
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.
- 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.
- Open 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:
- Open the 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:
- Open the eBird sighting report for Avery County
- Open the 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:
- Open the Waymark.com report for Rufus
Communities Also Named Rufus ...
We found eight communities that are also named Rufus.
Within North Carolina, the name Rufus is unique.
Beyond North Carolina, we know of eight communities that are located in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Arkansas
- Jackson 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 Arkansas community of Rufus [Jackson County].
- Georgia
- Bulloch 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 Rufus [Bulloch County].
- Kentucky
- Caldwell County
- This Rufus is located in Caldwell County and lies 356 miles [572.9 km]<2> to the west northwest of the Rufus that is located in Caldwell County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Caldwell County community of Rufus.
- Mississippi
- Rankin County
- This Rufus is located in Rankin County and lies 534 miles [859.4 km]<2> to the west southwest of the Rufus that is located in Caldwell County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Rankin County community of Rufus.
- 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
- Sherman County
- This Rufus is located in Sherman County and lies 2,125 miles [3,419.9 km]<2> to the west northwest of the Rufus that is located in Caldwell County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Sherman County community of Rufus.
- Texas
- Eastland 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 Texas community of Rufus [Eastland County].
- Wisconsin
- Ashland 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 Wisconsin community of Rufus [Ashland County].
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)
- Apple Ridge is located in Caldwell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Apple Ridge
- Falcon Crest
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Falcon Crest is located in Caldwell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Falcon Crest
- Globe
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Globe is located in Caldwell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Globe
- Globe Set ‑ Historic
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Globe Set is located in Caldwell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Globe Set
- Happy Valley
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Happy Valley is located in Caldwell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Happy Valley
- Honey Hill
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Honey Hill is located in Caldwell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Honey Hill
- Indian Hills
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Indian Hills is located in Caldwell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Hills
- Jones ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Jones is located in Caldwell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jones
- Maple Grove
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Maple Grove is located in Caldwell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maple Grove
- Mulberry
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Tranquil Hill
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Tranquil Hill is located in Caldwell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tranquil Hill
- Warrior
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Warrior is located in Caldwell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Warrior
How Far From Rufus 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 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<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 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<4> 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).<5>
- 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).<6>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,801 miles [7,726.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>'
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 'straight-line' 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. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <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 Rufus 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 Rufus. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 35.9990, Longitude: -81.6414 |
| <5> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 310.688 degrees. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 306.20 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 307.592 degrees. |
|
|