Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Ruby, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Ruby and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Ruby
- 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 Ruby:
- 48.498012, -119.725039
- 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 Ruby
- 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 Okanogan County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Okanogan County
- Since Ruby is near Douglas County, we have provided a link to its eBird sighting report:
- eBird sighting report for Douglas 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
Communities Also Named Ruby ...
We found 32 communities that share the name Ruby.
There are three communities within Washington that are also named Ruby.
Beyond Washington, we know of another 29 communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these 29 communities, 31 are located in the United States and one is in Canada.
- Communities Located In Washington ...
- Benton County
- Pend Oreille County
- Whatcom County
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Alabama
- Cullman County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<3> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Alabama community of Ruby [Cullman County].
- Walker County
- This community is historic<2> and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Alabama community of Ruby [Walker County].
- Alaska
- This Ruby lies 1,721 miles [2,769.7 km]<1> to the northwest of the Ruby that is located in Okanogan County.
- Arizona
- Colorado
- Gunnison County
- This Ruby is located in Gunnison County and lies 914 miles [1,470.9 km]<1> to the southeast of the Ruby that is located in Okanogan County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Gunnison County community of Ruby.
- Mesa County
- This Ruby is located in Mesa County and lies 835 miles [1,343.8 km] to the southeast of the Ruby that is located in Okanogan County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Mesa County community of Ruby.
- Pitkin County
- This community is historic<2> and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Colorado community of Ruby [Pitkin County].
- Georgia
- Irwin County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<3> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Georgia community of Ruby [Irwin County].
- Jones County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Georgia community of Ruby [Jones County].
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Kansas
- Harper County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<3> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Kansas community of Ruby [Harper County].
- Sedgwick County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Kansas community of Ruby [Sedgwick County].
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Michigan
- Mississippi
- Copiah County
- This Ruby is located in Copiah County and lies 1,909 miles [3,072.2 km]<1> to the east southeast of the Ruby that is located in Okanogan County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Copiah County community of Ruby.
- Leflore County
- This Ruby is located in Leflore County and lies 1,826 miles [2,938.7 km] to the east southeast of the Ruby that is located in Okanogan County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Leflore County community of Ruby.
- Montana
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- New York
- North Dakota
- Ohio
- Ontario
- This Ruby lies 1,980 miles [3,186.5 km]<1> to the east of the Ruby that is located in Okanogan County.
- Oregon
- South Carolina
- Virginia
- Wisconsin
- Alabama
Curious and Interesting Names Near Ruby ...
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.
- Cherokee
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east) - Enterprise
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Enterprise have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Enterprise
- Enterprise is located in Okanogan County
- Janis
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast) - Keystone
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east) - Loop Loop ‑ Historic
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south) - Paradise Hill
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Paradise Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paradise Hill
- Paradise Hill is located in Okanogan County
- Rocky Butte
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rocky Butte have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rocky Butte
- Rocky Butte is located in Douglas County
- Virginia City ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Virginia City have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Virginia City
- Virginia City is located in Okanogan County
How Far From Ruby 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 Ruby to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers and using the location of where the historic community of Ruby once stood, the straight-line distance beginning in Ruby and extending to:
- Okanogan, which is the Seat of Okanogan County, lies 11 miles [17.7 km]<1> to the southeast. If you could walk a straight line from Ruby to Okanogan, with an average speed<5> 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.
- Olympia, which is the State Capital of Washington, lies 178 miles [286.5 km] to the west southwest (WSW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take a little over three hours, a buggy would take 7 days and walking would take 11 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 2,199 miles [3,538.9 km] to the east (E). Driving would take 5 days, a buggy would take 86 days and walking would take 125 days.
- The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,674 miles [10,740.8 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,438 miles [11,970.3 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,542 miles [8,919 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Okanogan County: www.okanogancounty.org/
The official website for State of Washington: https://access.wa.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Ruby) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Ruby. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 48.4980, Longitude: -119.7250 In this case, the coordinates for Ruby have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <2> | We use the term 'Historic' broadly and it generally means that the community no longer exists. However, it can also mean that the community might still exist, but was significantly larger or had a more 'official' existence in the past than it does now. Unfortunately our sources of data have proven to be unreliable. If you can provide us with more specific information about Ruby, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <3> | If we encounter the name of what might be a community, our methodology is to add that name to our Gazetteer as a placeholder. As we find more information about that community, it will be added to our Gazetteer. Just as a reminder: Our definition of a community is rather broad and includes those places (or areas) where several families lived and had a name which identified that place. For example, you might hear somebody say that they are going over to Bird Creek to see Pete ... Bird Creek is just a gas station and a couple of homes at the crossroads. While it might not be on the map, everybody in the area knows it by that name. Places of interest include buildings at a crossroad, several families clustered in a hollow or maybe the location of a way station. It also includes places like mines, lumber camps, ferry crossings, etc. The community might still exist, is now gone or only existed for just a short period of time. Also keep in mind that Ruby could have been on the original document by mistake, misspelled, the original/alternate name of a community that we've listed elsewhere or was placed in the wrong county. Sometimes a post office or train station would have a different name than the community where it's located, so two names might be referring to the same community - we're working to straighten it all out. |
| <4> | 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. |
| <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 Ruby 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 338.762 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 340.035 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 325.971 degrees. |