Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Raintree Country, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Raintree Country and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Raintree Country
- 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 Raintree Country:
- 33.109843, -87.494449
- 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 Raintree Country
- 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 Tuscaloosa County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Tuscaloosa County
- Since Raintree Country is near Hale County and also Bibb County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Hale County
- eBird sighting report for Bibb 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 Raintree Country ...
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 Hills
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cherokee Hills have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherokee Hills
- Cherokee Hills is located in Tuscaloosa County
- Huntland
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast) - Jerusalem Heights
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Jerusalem Heights have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jerusalem Heights
- Jerusalem Heights is located in Tuscaloosa County
- Little Sandy
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Little Sandy have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Sandy
- Little Sandy is located in Tuscaloosa County
- Maxwell
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest) - Mimosa Highlands
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mimosa Highlands have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mimosa Highlands
- Mimosa Highlands is located in Tuscaloosa County
- Peach Grove
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Peach Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peach Grove
- Peach Grove is located in Tuscaloosa County
- Running Brook
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Running Brook have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Running Brook
- Running Brook is located in Tuscaloosa County
- Sky Ranch
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north) - Skyland Park
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Skyland Park have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Skyland Park
- Skyland Park is located in Tuscaloosa County
- Stokes
(Less than 2 miles to the north) - Whispering Hills
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Whispering Hills have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whispering Hills
- Whispering Hills is located in Tuscaloosa County
- Woodland Pines
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Woodland Pines have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodland Pines
- Woodland Pines is located in Tuscaloosa County
How Far From Raintree Country 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 Raintree Country to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<2> beginning in Raintree Country and extending to:
- Tuscaloosa, which is the Seat of Tuscaloosa County, lies just to the North Northwest.
- Montgomery, which is the State Capital of Alabama, lies 85 miles [136.8 km]<2> to the southeast (SE). If you could drive a straight line from Raintree Country to Montgomery, with an average speed<3>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 5 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 707 miles [1,137.8 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take just about two full days, a buggy would take 28 days and walking would take 41 days.
- The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,600 miles [10,621.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,309 miles [11,762.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,185 miles [8,344.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Raintree Country. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Tuscaloosa County: www.co.tuscaloosa.al.us/
The official website for State of Alabama: https://www.alabama.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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. |
| <2> | 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- Raintree Country) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Raintree Country. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 33.1098, Longitude: -87.4944 In this case, the coordinates for Raintree Country have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <3> | 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. |
| <4> | 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 Raintree Country to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <5> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 314.066 degrees. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 309.682 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 310.659 degrees. |