RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Virginia >> Stafford County >> Hoys Way >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Hoys Way, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Hoys Way 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 Hoys Way:
    • 38.480000, -77.575800
    • 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 Hoys Way
  • 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 Hoys Way 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 Hoys Way

Curious and Interesting Names Near Hoys Way ...

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.

  • Brandy Hills
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Brandy Hills is located in Stafford County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brandy Hills
  • Cool River
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
    • Cool River is located in Stafford County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cool River
  • Deep Run
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Deep Run is located in Stafford County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deep Run
  • Diamond Park
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Diamond Park is located in Stafford County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Diamond Park
  • Eagles Nest
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Eagles Nest is located in Stafford County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eagles Nest
  • Ivyglen
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Ivyglen is located in Stafford County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ivyglen
  • Kings Grant
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Kings Grant is located in Stafford County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kings Grant
  • Lake Arrowhead
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Lake Arrowhead is located in Stafford County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Arrowhead
  • Queens Guard
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Queens Guard is located in Stafford County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Queens Guard
  • Red Hill
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Red Hill is located in Stafford County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Hill
  • Rolling Hills
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Rolling Hills is located in Stafford County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rolling Hills
  • Rosedale
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Rosedale is located in Stafford County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosedale
  • Continue List   (6 more) ...
    • Roseville Heights
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
      • Roseville Heights is located in Stafford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roseville Heights
    • Ruby
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Ruby is located in Stafford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ruby
    • Seven Lakes
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Seven Lakes is located in Stafford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seven Lakes
    • Skidmore Corner
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
      • Skidmore Corner is located in Stafford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Skidmore Corner
    • Skyline Hills
      (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
      • Skyline Hills is located in Stafford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Skyline Hills
    • Walnut Ridge
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
      • Walnut Ridge is located in Stafford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walnut Ridge

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

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

  • Stafford, which is the Seat of Stafford County, lies 9 miles [14.5 km]<1> to the east southeast. If you could walk a straight line from Hoys Way to Stafford, 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.
  • Richmond, which is the State Capital of Virginia, lies 65 miles [104.6 km] to the south (S). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than an hour, a buggy would take about three full days and walking would take most of three days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 40 miles [64.4 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving 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 5,938 miles [9,556.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<4>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,643 miles [10,690.9 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<5>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,520 miles [7,274.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>'

Footnotes ...

<1>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- Hoys Way) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<2>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.
<3>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 Hoys Way 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 Hoys Way. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 38.4800, Longitude: -77.5758       In this case, the coordinates for Hoys Way have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<4>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 308.232 degrees.
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 303.764 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 305.098 degrees.