Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Gainestown, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Gainestown and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Gainestown
- 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 Gainestown:
- 31.445570, -87.693306
- 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 Gainestown
- 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 Clarke County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Clarke County
- Since Gainestown is near Monroe County and also Baldwin County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Monroe County
- eBird sighting report for Baldwin 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 Gainestown ...
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.
- Choctaw Bluff
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Choctaw Bluff have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Choctaw Bluff
- Choctaw Bluff is located in Clarke County
- Eureka Landing
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Eureka Landing have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eureka Landing
- Eureka Landing is located in Monroe County
- Homewood
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast) - Howard Landing
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Howard Landing have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Howard Landing
- Howard Landing is located in Monroe County
- Manila
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north) - Masons Ferry
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Masons Ferry have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Masons Ferry
- Masons Ferry is located in Monroe County
- Mount Pleasant
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mount Pleasant have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Pleasant
- Mount Pleasant is located in Monroe County
- Mount Pleasant Landing
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mount Pleasant Landing have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Pleasant Landing
- Mount Pleasant Landing is located in Monroe County
- Olivers Ferry
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Olivers Ferry have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Olivers Ferry
- Olivers Ferry is located in Monroe County
- Rockville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockville
- Rockville is located in Clarke County
How Far From Gainestown 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 Gainestown to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<2> beginning in Gainestown and extending to:
- Grove Hill, which is the Seat of Clarke County, lies 18 miles [29 km]<2> to the north northwest. If you could walk a straight line from Gainestown to Grove Hill, with an average speed<3> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take just over a day to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take five to six hours.
- Montgomery, which is the State Capital of Alabama, lies 103 miles [165.8 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than two hours, a buggy would take 4 days and walking would take 6 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 790 miles [1,271.4 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take just about two full days, a buggy would take 31 days and walking would take 45 days.
- The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,688 miles [10,763.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,391 miles [11,894.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,269 miles [8,479.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Gainestown. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
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 '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- Gainestown) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Gainestown. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 31.4456, Longitude: -87.6933 In this case, the coordinates for Gainestown 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 Gainestown 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 314.055 degrees. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 309.441 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 311.058 degrees. |