Outdoor Activities ...

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

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

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

• 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 The Estates:
  • 38.471900, -77.514100
  • 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 The Estates

• 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 Stafford County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
  • Open the eBird sighting report for Stafford County
  • Since The Estates is near Fauquier County and also Prince William County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
  • Open the eBird sighting report for Fauquier County
  • Open the eBird sighting report for Prince William 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 The Estates

Curious and Interesting Names Near The Estates ...

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 Grove
  (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
  • Apple Grove is located in Stafford County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Apple Grove
• Hunters Pond
  (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
  • Hunters Pond is located in Stafford County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hunters Pond
• Ivyglen
  (Less than 2 miles to the west)
  • Ivyglen is located in Stafford County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ivyglen
• Kings Crest
  (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
  • Kings Crest is located in Stafford County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kings Crest
• Lake Arrowhead
  (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Lake Arrowhead is located in Stafford County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Arrowhead
• Old Homestead
  (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
  • Old Homestead is located in Stafford County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Homestead
• Peppermint Forest
  (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
  • Peppermint Forest is located in Stafford County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peppermint Forest
• Red Hill
  (Less than 2 miles to the north)
  • Red Hill is located in Stafford County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Hill
• Rosedale
  (Less than 2 miles to the west)
  • Rosedale is located in Stafford County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosedale
• Continue List   (6 more) ...
  • Roseville
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Roseville is located in Stafford County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roseville
  • Roseville Heights
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
    • Roseville Heights is located in Stafford County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roseville Heights
  • Ruby
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Ruby is located in Stafford County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ruby
  • Seven Lakes
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Seven Lakes is located in Stafford County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seven Lakes
  • Skidmore Corner
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
    • Skidmore Corner is located in Stafford County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Skidmore Corner
  • Skywoods
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Skywoods is located in Stafford County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Skywoods

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

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

• Stafford, which is the Seat of Stafford County, lies just to the East Southeast.
• Richmond, which is the State Capital of Virginia, lies 64 miles [103 km]<1> to the south (S). If you could walk a straight line from The Estates to Richmond, with an average speed<2> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take most of three days to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take about three full days.
• The White House (Washington, DC) is 39 miles [62.8 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than an hour, a buggy would take just about two full days and walking would take over two days.
• The shortest distance<3> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,936 miles [9,553.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<4>
• The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,640 miles [10,686 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<5>
• The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,517 miles [7,269.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>'