Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Durian, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Durian and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Durian
- 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 Durian:
- 34.288983, -92.760444
- 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 Durian
- 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 Hot Spring County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Hot Spring County
- Since Durian is near Grant County and also Saline County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Grant County
- eBird sighting report for Saline 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 Durian ...
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.
- Arthur ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east) - Carver
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast) - Central
(5 miles [8 km] to the west) - Harp
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest) - Oak Grove
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest) - Rockport
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north) - Round Hill
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Round Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Round Hill
- Round Hill is located in Dallas County
- Social Hill
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Social Hill
- Social Hill is located in Hot Spring County
- Twin Oak ‑ Historic
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest) - Willow
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
How Far From Durian 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 Durian 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<2> community of Durian once stood, the straight-line distance<3> beginning in Durian and extending to:
- Malvern, which is the Seat of Hot Spring County, lies just to the North Northwest.
- Little Rock, which is the State Capital of Arkansas, lies 42 miles [67.6 km]<3> to the northeast (NE). If you could walk a straight line from Durian to Little Rock, with an average speed<4> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take about three full days to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take just about two full days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 926 miles [1,490.3 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take most of two days, a buggy would take 37 days and walking would take 53 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,752 miles [10,866.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,481 miles [12,039.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,357 miles [8,621.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for State of Arkansas: https://portal.arkansas.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> | 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 Durian, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <3> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Durian) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Durian. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 34.2890, Longitude: -92.7604 In this case, the coordinates for Durian have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <4> | 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. |
| <5> | 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 Durian to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 317.455 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 313.774 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 312.661 degrees. |