Outdoor Activities ...

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

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

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

• 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 Rip Rap:
  • 36.577363, -78.741117
  • 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 Rip Rap

• 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 Halifax County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
  • Open the eBird sighting report for Halifax County
  • Since Rip Rap is near Mecklenburg County and also Granville County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
  • Open the eBird sighting report for Mecklenburg County
  • Open the eBird sighting report for Granville 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 Rip Rap

Curious and Interesting Names Near Rip Rap ...

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.

• Buffalo Springs
  (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Buffalo Springs is located in Mecklenburg County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buffalo Springs
• Christie
  (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Christie is located in Halifax County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Christie
• Cornwall
  (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Cornwall is located in Granville County (NC)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cornwall
• High Hill
  (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • High Hill is located in Halifax County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for High Hill
• Mayo
  (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  • Mayo is located in Halifax County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mayo
• Nelson
  (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
  • Nelson is located in Mecklenburg County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nelson
• Pools Mill
  (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Pools Mill is located in Halifax County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pools Mill
• Red Bank
  (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
  • Red Bank is located in Halifax County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Bank
• Sandy Fork
  (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • Sandy Fork is located in Mecklenburg County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandy Fork
• Shady Grove
  (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Shady Grove is located in Halifax County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shady Grove
• Triple Springs
  (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Triple Springs is located in Person County (NC)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Triple Springs

How Far From Rip Rap 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 Rip Rap to various places of note, such as the White House.

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

• Halifax, which is the Seat of Halifax County, lies 16 miles [25.7 km]<1> to the northwest. If you could walk a straight line from Rip Rap to Halifax, with an average speed<2> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take most of a day to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take five to six hours.
• Richmond, which is the State Capital of Virginia, lies 98 miles [157.7 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than two hours, a buggy would take three full days and walking would take 6 days.
• The White House (Washington, DC) is 185 miles [297.7 km] to the north northeast (NNE). Driving would take a little over three hours, a buggy would take 8 days and walking would take 11 days.
• The shortest distance<3> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,070 miles [9,768.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<4>
• The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,769 miles [10,893.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
• The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,648 miles [7,480.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>'