Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Rains, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Rains and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Rains
- 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 Rains:
- 34.259816, -86.086086
- 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 Rains
- 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 DeKalb County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for DeKalb County
- Since Rains is near Marshall County and also Etowah County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Marshall County
- eBird sighting report for Etowah 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 Rains ...
We found three communities that share the name Rains.
Within Alabama, the name Rains is unique.
Beyond Alabama, we know of another three communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Nevada
- South Carolina
- Utah
Curious and Interesting Names Near Rains ...
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.
- Crossville
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crossville
- Crossville is located in DeKalb County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,847 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Crossville <3>
- Double Bridges
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Double Bridges have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Double Bridges
- Double Bridges is located in Marshall County
- Hustleville
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hustleville
- Hustleville is located in Marshall County
- Kilpatrick
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kilpatrick have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kilpatrick
- Kilpatrick is located in DeKalb County
- Liberty
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast) - Liberty Hill
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Liberty Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty Hill
- Liberty Hill is located in Etowah County
- Lot ‑ Historic
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west) - Marcus ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast) - Marshall
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west) - Painter
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north) - Pulltight
(5 miles [8 km] to the south) - Rogers
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
How Far From Rains 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 Rains 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 Rains once stood, the straight-line distance beginning in Rains and extending to:
- Fort Payne, which is the Seat of DeKalb County, lies 24 miles [38.6 km]<2> to the east northeast. If you could walk a straight line from Rains to Fort Payne, with an average speed<5> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take just about two full days to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take most of a day.
- Montgomery, which is the State Capital of Alabama, lies 130 miles [209.2 km] to the south (S). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than three hours, a buggy would take 5 days and walking would take 8 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 594 miles [956 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take just over a day, a buggy would take 24 days and walking would take 34 days.
- The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,486 miles [10,438.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,196 miles [11,580.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,072 miles [8,162.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for DeKalb County: www.dekalbcountyal.us/
The official website for State of Alabama: https://www.alabama.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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 Rains, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <2> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Rains) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Rains. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 34.2598, Longitude: -86.0861 In this case, the coordinates for Rains have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <3> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <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 Rains 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 313.287 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 308.941 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 309.844 degrees. |