Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Rafton, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Rafton and the surrounding area.

• Weather ...
  • Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
  • The National Weather Service forecast for Rafton

• 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 Rafton:
  • 45.642060, -122.825657
  • 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 Rafton

• 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 Multnomah County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
  • Open the eBird sighting report for Multnomah County
  • Since Rafton is near Clark County and also Washington County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
  • Open the eBird sighting report for Clark County
  • Open the eBird sighting report for Washington 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 Rafton

Curious and Interesting Names Near Rafton ...

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.

• Bethany
  (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Bethany is located in Washington County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethany
• Blurock Landing
  (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Blurock Landing is located in Clark County (WA)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blurock Landing
• Bonny Slope
  (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Bonny Slope is located in Multnomah County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bonny Slope
• Knapp
  (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Knapp is located in Clark County (WA)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knapp
• Knapp Landing
  (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Knapp Landing is located in Clark County (WA)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knapp Landing
• Lake Shore
  (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Lake Shore is located in Clark County (WA)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Shore
• Lakeshore
  (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Lakeshore is located in Clark County (WA)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakeshore
• Merle
  (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Merle is located in Washington County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merle
• Plainview ‑ Historic
  (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Plainview is located in Multnomah County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plainview
• River Junction
  (Less than 2 miles to the south)
  • River Junction is located in Multnomah County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for River Junction
• Riverview ‑ Historic
  (Less than 2 miles to the north)
  • Riverview is located in Multnomah County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverview
• Rockcreek
  (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Rockcreek is located in Washington County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockcreek
• United Junction
  (Less than 2 miles to the south)
  • United Junction is located in Multnomah County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for United Junction
• University Park
  (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • University Park is located in Multnomah County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for University Park

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

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

• Portland, which is the Seat of Multnomah County, lies 10 miles [16.1 km]<1> to the southeast. If you could walk a straight line from Rafton to Portland, with an average speed<2> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take four to five hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take a little over three hours.
• Salem, which is the State Capital of Oregon, lies 49 miles [78.9 km] to the south southwest (SSW). 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 about three full days.
• The White House (Washington, DC) is 2,352 miles [3,785.2 km] to the east (E). Driving would take 5 days, a buggy would take 92 days and walking would take 134 days.
• The shortest distance<3> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,909 miles [11,119 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<4>
• The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,671 miles [12,345.3 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<5>
• The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,787 miles [9,313.3 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<6>'