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

Outdoor Activities ...

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

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

  • Weather ...
    • Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
    • The National Weather Service forecast for Rappahannock Ridge 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 Rappahannock Ridge Estates:
    • 38.390300, -77.605400
    • 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 Rappahannock Ridge 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 Rappahannock Ridge Estates is near Spotsylvania County and also Fauquier County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Spotsylvania County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Fauquier 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 Rappahannock Ridge Estates

Curious and Interesting Names Near Rappahannock Ridge 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.

  • Brandy Hills
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Brandy Hills is located in Stafford County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brandy Hills
  • Cool River
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Cool River is located in Stafford County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cool River
  • Diamond Park
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Diamond Park is located in Stafford County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Diamond Park
  • English Hills
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • English Hills is located in Stafford County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for English Hills
  • Goldvein
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Heartland Ridge
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Heartland Ridge is located in Stafford County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heartland Ridge
  • Holly Corner
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Holly Corner is located in Stafford County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holly Corner
  • Holly Corners
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Holly Corners is located in Stafford County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holly Corners
  • Kings Grant
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Kings Grant is located in Stafford County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kings Grant
  • Continue List   (6 more) ...
    • Long Branch
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Long Branch is located in Stafford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Long Branch
    • Mine Ridge
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Mine Ridge is located in Stafford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mine Ridge
    • Old Banks
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Old Banks is located in Stafford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Banks
    • Peach Lawn
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
      • Peach Lawn is located in Stafford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peach Lawn
    • Scenic Ridge
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Scenic Ridge is located in Stafford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scenic Ridge
    • Summerset Ridge
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Summerset Ridge is located in Stafford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summerset Ridge

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

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<2> beginning in Rappahannock Ridge Estates and extending to:

  • Stafford, which is the Seat of Stafford County, lies 10 miles [16.1 km]<2> to the east. If you could walk a straight line from Rappahannock Ridge Estates to Stafford, with an average speed<3> 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 59 miles [95 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 46 miles [74 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take less than an hour, a buggy would take most of two days and walking would take about three full days.
  • The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,943 miles [9,564.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,647 miles [10,697.3 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<6>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,525 miles [7,282.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>'

Footnotes ...

<1>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<2>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- Rappahannock Ridge Estates) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<3>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.
<4>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 Rappahannock Ridge Estates 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 Rappahannock Ridge Estates. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 38.3903, Longitude: -77.6054       In this case, the coordinates for Rappahannock Ridge Estates have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 308.254 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 303.775 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 305.144 degrees.