Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Ronk, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Ronk and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Ronk
- 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 Ronk:
- 37.405957, -80.640068
- 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 Ronk
- 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 Giles County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Giles County
- Since Ronk is near Monroe County and also Craig County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Monroe County
- eBird sighting report for Craig 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:
- Waymark.com
Curious and Interesting Names Near Ronk ...
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.
- Assurance
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north) - Bluff City
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Bluff City. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bluff City
- Bluff City is located in Giles County
- Gray Sulphur Springs ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gray Sulphur Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gray Sulphur Springs
- Gray Sulphur Springs is located in Giles County
- Greenville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Greenville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenville
- Greenville is located in Monroe County (WV)
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Greenville <3>
- Maybrook
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast) - Mountain Lake
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountain Lake
- Mountain Lake is located in Giles County
- Mountain View
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mountain View have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountain View
- Mountain View is located in Giles County
- Peterstown
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peterstown
- Peterstown is located in Monroe County (WV)
- Population from the 2020 Census: 617 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Peterstown <3>
- Ripplemead
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ripplemead have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ripplemead
- Ripplemead is located in Giles County
- Rock Camp
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north) - Staytide ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
How Far From Ronk 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 Ronk to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<4> beginning in Ronk and extending to:
- Pearisburg, which is the Seat of Giles County, lies just to the Southwest.
- Richmond, which is the State Capital of Virginia, lies 175 miles [281.6 km]<4> to the east (E). If you could drive a straight line from Ronk to Richmond, with an average speed<5>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take about three hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 10 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 7 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 221 miles [355.7 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take nearly four hours, a buggy would take 9 days and walking would take 13 days.
- The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,114 miles [9,839.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,822 miles [10,978.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,698 miles [7,560.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Ronk. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Giles County: www.gilescounty.org/
The official website for State of Virginia: https://www.virginia.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace. |
| <2> | 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. |
| <3> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <4> | 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- Ronk) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Ronk. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 37.4060, Longitude: -80.6401 In this case, the coordinates for Ronk have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <5> | 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. |
| <6> | 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 Ronk to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 310.083 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 305.713 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 306.747 degrees. |