RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Virginia >> Augusta County >> Grottoes >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

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

  • Weather ...
  • 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 Grottoes:
    • 38.270678, -78.824284
    • 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.
    • The Heavens-Above Website, centered on Grottoes
  • 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:
    • Waymark.com

Curious and Interesting Names Near Grottoes ...

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.

  • Almond ‑ Historic
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Almond have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Almond
    • Almond is located in Rockingham County
  • Cross Keys
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Damtown
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Damtown have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Damtown
    • Damtown is located in Augusta County
  • Fort Defiance
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fort Defiance have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Defiance
    • Fort Defiance is located in Augusta County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fort Defiance <2>
  • Island Ford
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Island Ford have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Island Ford
    • Island Ford is located in Rockingham County
  • Keezletown
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
  • Knightly
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Knightly have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knightly
    • Knightly is located in Augusta County
  • Madrid
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Madrid have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Madrid
    • Madrid is located in Augusta County
  • Peach Grove ‑ Historic
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Peach Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peach Grove
    • Peach Grove is located in Rockingham County
  • Red Mills
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Red Mills have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Mills
    • Red Mills is located in Augusta County
  • Rocky Bar
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rocky Bar have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rocky Bar
    • Rocky Bar is located in Rockingham County
  • Stonewall
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Stonewall have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stonewall
    • Stonewall is located in Augusta County
  • Timber Ridge
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Timber Ridge have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Timber Ridge
    • Timber Ridge is located in Rockingham County

How Far From Grottoes to ...

We spend a lot of time looking through Gazetteers, Almanacs & Directories that were published in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Many of the Gazetteers include the distance from a town such as Grottoes to various places of note, such as the White House.

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<3> beginning in Grottoes and extending to:

  • Richmond, which is the State Capital of Virginia, lies 90 miles [144.8 km]<3> to the southeast (SE). If you could drive a straight line from Grottoes to Richmond, 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 6 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 105 miles [169 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take less than two hours, a buggy would take 5 days and walking would take 6 days.
  • The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,000 miles [9,656.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,707 miles [10,793.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,583 miles [7,375.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>

Footnotes ...

<1>The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<3>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Grottoes) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Grottoes. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 38.2707, Longitude: -78.8243    
<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 Grottoes to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 308.979 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 304.583 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 305.696 degrees.