RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of West Virginia >> Upshur County >> Ruraldale >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Ruraldale, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Ruraldale 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 Ruraldale:
    • 39.067041, -80.231751
    • 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 Ruraldale
  • 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 Upshur County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Upshur County
    • Since Ruraldale is near Barbour County and also Lewis County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Barbour County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Lewis 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 Ruraldale

Communities Also Named Ruraldale ...

We found two communities that are also named Ruraldale.

Within West Virginia, the name Ruraldale is unique.

Beyond West Virginia, we know of two communities that are located in the United States.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Ohio
      • Muskingum County
      • This Ruraldale is located in Muskingum County and lies 99 miles [159.3 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Ruraldale that is located in Upshur County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Muskingum County community of Ruraldale.
      • Washington County
      • This Ruraldale is located in Washington County and lies 69 miles [111 km] to the west northwest of the Ruraldale that is located in Upshur County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Washington County community of Ruraldale.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Ruraldale ...

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.

  • Atlas
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Atlas is located in Upshur County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Atlas
  • Berlin
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Berlin is located in Lewis County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berlin
  • Boulder
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Boulder is located in Barbour County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boulder
  • Century
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Century is located in Barbour County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Century
  • Century Junction
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Century Junction is located in Barbour County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Century Junction
  • Deanville
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Deanville is located in Upshur County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deanville
  • Heavener Grove
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Heavener Grove is located in Upshur County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heavener Grove
  • Heavner ‑ Historic
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Heavner is located in Upshur County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heavner
  • Johnstown
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Johnstown is located in Harrison County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Johnstown
  • Longview
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Longview is located in Barbour County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Longview
  • Murphy
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Murphy is located in Barbour County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Murphy
  • Pecks Run
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Pecks Run is located in Upshur County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pecks Run
  • Peeltree
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Peeltree is located in Barbour County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peeltree
  • Red Rock
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Red Rock is located in Upshur County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Rock

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

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

  • Buckhannon, which is the Seat of Upshur County, lies just to the South.
  • Charleston, which is the State Capital of West Virginia, lies 90 miles [144.8 km]<1> to the west southwest (WSW). If you could drive a straight line from Ruraldale to Charleston, with an average speed<2>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take less than two hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 6 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take most of three days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 171 miles [275.2 km] to the east (E). Driving would take about three hours, a buggy would take 7 days and walking would take 10 days.
  • The shortest distance<3> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,024 miles [9,694.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<4>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,737 miles [10,842.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,613 miles [7,423.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>'

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- Ruraldale) 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 Ruraldale 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 Ruraldale. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 39.0670, Longitude: -80.2318       In this case, the coordinates for Ruraldale have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<4>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 309.791 degrees.
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 305.628 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 306.018 degrees.