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Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Ruidoso Downs, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Ruidoso Downs 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 Ruidoso Downs:
- 33.332023, -105.596040
- 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 Ruidoso Downs
- 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 Lincoln County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- Open the eBird sighting report for Lincoln County
- Since Ruidoso Downs is near Otero County and also Chaves County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- Open the eBird sighting report for Otero County
- Open the eBird sighting report for Chaves 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 Ruidoso Downs
Curious and Interesting Names Near Ruidoso Downs ...
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.
- Bluewater
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Double Crossing
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Double Crossing is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Double Crossing
- High Rolls
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- High Rolls is located in Otero County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for High Rolls
- Hondo
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Lincoln
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Lincoln is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lincoln
- Mountain Park
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Mountain Park is located in Otero County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountain Park
- Pine Lodge
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Pine Lodge is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Lodge
- Polly
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Polly is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Polly
- Silver Springs
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Silver Springs is located in Otero County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver Springs
- Sun Valley
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Sun Valley is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sun Valley
- Three Rivers
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Three Rivers is located in Otero County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Three Rivers
How Far From Ruidoso Downs 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 village such as Ruidoso Downs to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<2> beginning in Ruidoso Downs and extending to:
- Carrizozo, which is the Seat of Lincoln County, lies 26 miles [41.8 km]<2> to the northwest. If you could walk a straight line from Ruidoso Downs to Carrizozo, with an average speed<3> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take just about two full days to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take just over a day.
- Santa Fe, which is the State Capital of New Mexico, lies 163 miles [262.3 km] to the north (N). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than three hours, a buggy would take 7 days and walking would take 10 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 1,631 miles [2,624.8 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take most of three days, a buggy would take 64 days and walking would take 93 days.
- The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 7,260 miles [11,683.8 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<5>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 8,015 miles [12,898.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,919 miles [9,525.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>'
Footnotes ...
| <1> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <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 drawn from Point A (ie- Ruidoso Downs) 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 Ruidoso Downs 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 Ruidoso Downs. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 33.3320, Longitude: -105.5960 In this case, the coordinates for Ruidoso Downs have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <5> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 326.203 degrees. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 323.969 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 318.799 degrees. |
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