RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Virginia >> Isle of Wight County >> Rushmere >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Rushmere, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Rushmere 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 Rushmere:
    • 37.066815, -76.676345
    • 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 Rushmere
  • 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 Isle of Wight County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Isle of Wight County
    • Since Rushmere is near Surry County and also Newport News City, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Surry County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Newport News City
  • 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 Rushmere

Communities Also Named Rushmere ...

We found one communities that are also named Rushmere.

Within Virginia, the name Rushmere is unique.

Beyond Virginia, there is another community also named Rushmere in Canada.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • British Columbia
      • This Rushmere lies 2,135 miles [3,435.9 km]<1> to the northwest of the Rushmere that is located in Isle of Wight County.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Rushmere ...

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.

  • Alliance
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Alliance is located in Surry County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alliance
  • California Crossroads
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Comet
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Comet is located in Isle of Wight County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Comet
  • Deep Creek
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Deep Creek is located in Newport News City
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deep Creek
  • Foursquare
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Foursquare is located in Isle of Wight County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Foursquare
  • Highgate
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Highgate is located in Surry County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highgate
  • Holly Point
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Holly Point is located in Isle of Wight County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holly Point
  • Homewood
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Homewood is located in Surry County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Homewood
  • Magnet
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Magnet is located in Isle of Wight County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Magnet
  • Maple Grove
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Maple Grove is located in Newport News City
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maple Grove
  • Moonlight
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Moonlight is located in Isle of Wight County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moonlight
  • Nicewood
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Nicewood is located in Newport News City
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nicewood
  • Rescue
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Rescue is located in Isle of Wight County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rescue

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

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

  • Isle of Wight, which is the Seat of Isle of Wight County, lies 11 miles [17.7 km]<1> to the south. If you could walk a straight line from Rushmere to Isle of Wight, with an average speed<2> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take five to six hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take nearly four hours.
  • Richmond, which is the State Capital of Virginia, lies 53 miles [85.3 km] to the northwest (NW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than an hour, a buggy would take over two days and walking would take most of three days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 127 miles [204.4 km] to the north (N). Driving would take less than three hours, a buggy would take 5 days and walking would take 8 days.
  • The shortest distance<3> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,959 miles [9,590.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<4>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,655 miles [10,710.2 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<5>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,536 miles [7,300 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- Rushmere) 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 Rushmere 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 Rushmere. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 37.0668, Longitude: -76.6763       In this case, the coordinates for Rushmere have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<4>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 307.785 degrees.
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 303.039 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 305.258 degrees.