Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Straw, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Straw and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Straw
- 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 Straw:
- 46.852674, -109.793558
- 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 Straw
- 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 Fergus County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Fergus County
- Since Straw is near Judith Basin County and also Wheatland County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Judith Basin County
- eBird sighting report for Wheatland 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 Straw ...
We found two communities that share the name Straw.
Within Montana, the name Straw is unique.
Beyond Montana, we know of another two communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Kentucky
- North Carolina
Curious and Interesting Names Near Straw ...
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.
- Beaver Creek
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Beaver Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beaver Creek
- Beaver Creek is located in Fergus County
- Buffalo
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buffalo
- Buffalo is located in Fergus County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Buffalo <4>
- Cottonwood
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cottonwood have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cottonwood
- Cottonwood is located in Fergus County
- Eddies Corner
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Eddies Corner have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eddies Corner
- Eddies Corner is located in Fergus County
- Judith Gap
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Judith Gap
- Judith Gap is located in Wheatland County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 127 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Judith Gap <4>
- Lewistown
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lewistown have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lewistown
- Lewistown is located in Fergus County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 5,905 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lewistown <4>
- Living Springs
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Living Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Living Springs
- Living Springs is located in Wheatland County
- Moccasin
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moccasin
- Moccasin is located in Judith Basin County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Moccasin <4>
- Sapphire Village
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sapphire Village have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sapphire Village
- Sapphire Village is located in Judith Basin County
- Spring Creek Junction
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Spring Creek Junction have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Creek Junction
- Spring Creek Junction is located in Fergus County
How Far From Straw 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 Straw to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Straw and extending to:
- Lewistown, which is the Seat of Fergus County, lies 21 miles [33.8 km]<1> to the northeast. If you could walk a straight line from Straw to Lewistown, with an average speed<5> 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 most of a day.
- Helena, which is the State Capital of Montana, lies 106 miles [170.6 km] to the west (W). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than two hours, a buggy would take 5 days and walking would take 6 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 1,731 miles [2,785.8 km] to the east (E). Driving would take most of three days, a buggy would take 68 days and walking would take 99 days.
- The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,579 miles [10,587.9 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,348 miles [11,825.5 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,354 miles [8,616.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Straw. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Fergus County: www.co.fergus.mt.us/
The official website for State of Montana: https://mt.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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- Straw) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Straw. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 46.8527, Longitude: -109.7936 In this case, the coordinates for Straw have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <2> | If we encounter the name of what might be a community, our methodology is to add that name to our Gazetteer as a placeholder. As we find more information about that community, it will be added to our Gazetteer. Just as a reminder: Our definition of a community is rather broad and includes those places (or areas) where several families lived and had a name which identified that place. For example, you might hear somebody say that they are going over to Bird Creek to see Pete ... Bird Creek is just a gas station and a couple of homes at the crossroads. While it might not be on the map, everybody in the area knows it by that name. Places of interest include buildings at a crossroad, several families clustered in a hollow or maybe the location of a way station. It also includes places like mines, lumber camps, ferry crossings, etc. The community might still exist, is now gone or only existed for just a short period of time. Also keep in mind that Straw could have been on the original document by mistake, misspelled, the original/alternate name of a community that we've listed elsewhere or was placed in the wrong county. Sometimes a post office or train station would have a different name than the community where it's located, so two names might be referring to the same community - we're working to straighten it all out. |
| <3> | 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. |
| <4> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <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 Straw 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 330.704 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 330.605 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 319.86 degrees. |