RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Virginia >> Roanoke County >> Ponderosa Park >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Ponderosa Park, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Ponderosa Park 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 Ponderosa Park:
    • 37.204304, -80.011427
    • 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 Ponderosa Park
  • 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 Roanoke County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Roanoke County
    • Since Ponderosa Park is near Roanoke City and also Franklin County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Roanoke City
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Franklin 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 Ponderosa Park

Communities Also Named Ponderosa Park ...

We found four communities that are also named Ponderosa Park.

Within Virginia, the name Ponderosa Park is unique.

Beyond Virginia, we know of four communities that are located in the United States.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Arizona
      • Yavapai County
      • This Ponderosa Park is located in Yavapai County and lies 1,818 miles [2,925.8 km]<1> to the west of the Ponderosa Park that is located in Roanoke County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Yavapai County community of Ponderosa Park.
    • California
      • Calaveras County
      • This Ponderosa Park is located in Calaveras County and lies 2,188 miles [3,521.2 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Ponderosa Park that is located in Roanoke County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Calaveras County community of Ponderosa Park.
    • Colorado
      • Elbert County
      • This Ponderosa Park is located in Elbert County and lies 1,339 miles [2,154.9 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Ponderosa Park that is located in Roanoke County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Elbert County community of Ponderosa Park.
    • Utah
      • Salt Lake County
      • This Ponderosa Park is located in Salt Lake County and lies 1,718 miles [2,764.9 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Ponderosa Park that is located in Roanoke County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Salt Lake County community of Ponderosa Park.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Ponderosa Park ...

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.

  • Castle Hill
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Castle Hill is located in Roanoke County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Castle Hill
  • Castle Rock
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Castle Rock is located in Roanoke County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Castle Rock
  • Cave Spring
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Cave Spring is located in Roanoke County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cave Spring
  • Crescent Heights
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
    • Crescent Heights is located in Roanoke County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crescent Heights
  • Crest Hill
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Crest Hill is located in Roanoke County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crest Hill
  • Green Valley
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Green Valley is located in Roanoke County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Valley
  • Greenland Hills
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Greenland Hills is located in Roanoke City
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenland Hills
  • Highfields
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Highfields is located in Roanoke County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highfields
  • Holly Ridge
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Holly Ridge is located in Roanoke County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holly Ridge
  • Homeplace
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Homeplace is located in Roanoke County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Homeplace
  • Homewood
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Homewood is located in Roanoke County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Homewood
  • Hunting Hills
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Hunting Hills is located in Roanoke County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hunting Hills
  • Continue List   (8 more) ...
    • Meadowlark
      (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
      • Meadowlark is located in Roanoke County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadowlark
    • Narrows
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
      • Narrows is located in Roanoke County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Narrows
    • Rosecrest
      (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
      • Rosecrest is located in Roanoke County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosecrest
    • Scenic Hills
      (Less than 2 miles to the west)
      • Scenic Hills is located in Roanoke County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scenic Hills
    • Springlawn
      (Less than 2 miles to the north)
      • Springlawn is located in Roanoke County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springlawn
    • Sugar Loaf Farms
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Sugar Loaf Farms is located in Roanoke County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sugar Loaf Farms
    • Sugar Loaf Hills
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Sugar Loaf Hills is located in Roanoke County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sugar Loaf Hills
    • Woods Crossing
      (Less than 2 miles to the east)
      • Woods Crossing is located in Roanoke County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woods Crossing

How Far From Ponderosa Park 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 community such as Ponderosa Park to various places of note, such as the White House.

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Ponderosa Park and extending to:

  • Richmond, which is the State Capital of Virginia, lies 143 miles [230.1 km]<1> to the east (E). If you could drive a straight line from Ponderosa Park to Richmond, with an average speed<2>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take less than three hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 9 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 6 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 199 miles [320.3 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take a little over three hours, a buggy would take 8 days and walking would take 12 days.
  • The shortest distance<3> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,097 miles [9,812.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<4>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,802 miles [10,946.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,679 miles [7,530.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>'

Footnotes ...

<1>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or 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- Ponderosa Park) 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 Ponderosa Park 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 Ponderosa Park. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 37.2043, Longitude: -80.0114       In this case, the coordinates for Ponderosa Park have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<4>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 309.715 degrees.
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 305.263 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 306.553 degrees.