Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Ray Station, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Ray Station and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Ray Station
- 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 Ray Station:
- 34.223709, -91.819577
- 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 Ray Station
- 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 Jefferson County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Jefferson County
- Since Ray Station is near Arkansas County and also Lincoln County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Arkansas County
- eBird sighting report for Lincoln 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 Ray Station ...
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.
- Cornerstone
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Cornerstone. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cornerstone
- Cornerstone is located in Jefferson County
- Cottondale
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cottondale have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cottondale
- Cottondale is located in Jefferson County
- Glenlake
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest) - Greenback Ferry
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Greenback Ferry have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenback Ferry
- Greenback Ferry is located in Jefferson County
- Lake Dick
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest) - Moscow
(5 miles [8 km] to the south) - Noble Lake
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Noble Lake. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Noble Lake
- Noble Lake is located in Jefferson County
- Rob Roy
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest) - Sweden
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
How Far From Ray Station 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 Ray Station 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<3> community of Ray Station once stood, the straight-line distance<4> beginning in Ray Station and extending to:
- Pine Bluff, which is the Seat of Jefferson County, lies 10 miles [16.1 km]<4> to the west. If you could walk a straight line from Ray Station to Pine Bluff, with an average speed<5> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take four to five hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take a little over three hours.
- Little Rock, which is the State Capital of Arkansas, lies 43 miles [69.2 km] to the northwest (NW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than an hour, a buggy would take just about two full days and walking would take about three full days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 879 miles [1,414.6 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take most of two days, a buggy would take 35 days and walking would take 50 days.
- The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,719 miles [10,813.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,445 miles [11,981.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,321 miles [8,563.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Jefferson County: www.jeffersoncountyark.com/
The official website for State of Arkansas: https://portal.arkansas.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace. |
| <2> | 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. |
| <3> | 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 Ray Station, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | 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- Ray Station) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Ray Station. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 34.2237, Longitude: -91.8196 In this case, the coordinates for Ray Station have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <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 Ray Station 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 316.843 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 313.054 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 312.26 degrees. |