RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of North Carolina >> Rockingham County >> Spray >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Spray, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Spray 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 Spray:
    • 36.516430, -79.760548
    • 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 Spray
  • 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 Rockingham County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Rockingham County
    • Since Spray is near Henry County and also Pittsylvania County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Henry County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Pittsylvania 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 Spray

Communities Also Named Spray ...

We found two communities that are also named Spray.

Within North Carolina, the name Spray is unique.

Beyond North Carolina, we know of two communities that are located in the United States.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Florida
      • Madison County
      • This Spray is located in Madison County and lies 470 miles [756.4 km]<1> to the south southwest of the Spray that is located in Rockingham County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Madison County community of Spray.
    • Oregon
      • Wheeler County
      • This Spray is located in Wheeler County and lies 2,150 miles [3,460.1 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Spray that is located in Rockingham County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Wheeler County community of Spray.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Spray ...

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.

  • Bearslide
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Bearslide is located in Rockingham County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bearslide
  • College Village
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • College Village is located in Rockingham County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for College Village
  • Creekridge
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
    • Creekridge is located in Rockingham County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Creekridge
  • Dan River
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Dan River is located in Rockingham County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dan River
  • Eden
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
  • Forestdale
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Forestdale is located in Rockingham County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forestdale
  • Grand Oaks
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Grand Oaks is located in Rockingham County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grand Oaks
  • Green Acres
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Green Acres is located in Rockingham County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Acres
  • Green Knolls
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Green Knolls is located in Rockingham County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Knolls
  • Holly Hills
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Holly Hills is located in Rockingham County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holly Hills
  • Indian Hills
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Indian Hills is located in Rockingham County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Hills
  • Leaksville ‑ Historic
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
    • Leaksville is located in Rockingham County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leaksville
  • Continue List   (8 more) ...
    • Meadow Summit
      (Less than 2 miles to the east)
    • Piney Fork
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
      • Piney Fork is located in Rockingham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Piney Fork
    • Providence
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Providence is located in Rockingham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Providence
    • Ravenwood
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Ravenwood is located in Rockingham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ravenwood
    • Riverbend
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Riverbend is located in Rockingham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverbend
    • Sandy Level
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Sandy Level is located in Henry County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandy Level
    • Sunset Hills
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Sunset Hills is located in Rockingham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunset Hills
    • Whispering Pines
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Whispering Pines is located in Rockingham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whispering Pines

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

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers and using the location of where the historic<3> community of Spray once stood, the straight-line distance beginning in Spray and extending to:

  • Wentworth, which is the Seat of Rockingham County, lies just to the South.
  • Raleigh, which is the State Capital of North Carolina, lies 80 miles [128.7 km]<1> to the southeast (SE). If you could drive a straight line from Spray to Raleigh, with an average speed<4>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take less than two hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 5 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take most of three days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 221 miles [355.7 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take nearly four hours, a buggy would take 9 days and walking would take 13 days.
  • The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,116 miles [9,842.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,818 miles [10,972.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,696 miles [7,557.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>'

Footnotes ...

<1>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Spray) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<3>We use the term 'Historic' broadly and it generally means that the community no longer exists. However, it can also mean that the community might still exist, but was significantly larger or had a more 'official' existence in the past than it does now. Unfortunately our sources of data have proven to be unreliable. If you can provide us with more specific information about Spray, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<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 Spray 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 Spray. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 36.5164, Longitude: -79.7605       In this case, the coordinates for Spray have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 309.583 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 305.01 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 306.675 degrees.