Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Rains Crossroads, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Rains Crossroads and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Rains Crossroads
- 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 Crossroads:
- 35.514322, -78.144824
- 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 Crossroads
- 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 Johnston County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Johnston County
- Since Rains Crossroads is near Wayne County and also Wilson County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Wayne County
- eBird sighting report for Wilson 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 Rains Crossroads ...
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.
- Crumplers Crossroads
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Crumplers Crossroads have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crumplers Crossroads
- Crumplers Crossroads is located in Johnston County
- Hickory Crossroads
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hickory Crossroads have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hickory Crossroads
- Hickory Crossroads is located in Johnston County
- Hollands Crossroads
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hollands Crossroads have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hollands Crossroads
- Hollands Crossroads is located in Wayne County
- Kirbys Crossing
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kirbys Crossing have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kirbys Crossing
- Kirbys Crossing is located in Wilson County
- Micro
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest) - Oliver
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west) - Peacock Crossroads
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Peacock Crossroads have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peacock Crossroads
- Peacock Crossroads is located in Wayne County
- Pike Crossroads
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pike Crossroads have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pike Crossroads
- Pike Crossroads is located in Wayne County
- Pine Level
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Level
- Pine Level is located in Johnston County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,080 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Pine Level <2>
How Far From Rains Crossroads 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 Rains Crossroads to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<3> beginning in Rains Crossroads and extending to:
- Smithfield, which is the Seat of Johnston County, lies 10 miles [16.1 km]<3> to the west. If you could walk a straight line from Rains Crossroads to Smithfield, with an average speed<4> 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.
- Raleigh, which is the State Capital of North Carolina, lies 33 miles [53.1 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 over a day and walking would take most of two days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 241 miles [387.9 km] to the north northeast (NNE). Driving would take nearly four hours, a buggy would take 10 days and walking would take 14 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,090 miles [9,800.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,783 miles [10,916.2 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,665 miles [7,507.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Rains Crossroads. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Johnston County: www.co.johnston.nc.us/
The official website for State of North Carolina: https://www.nc.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> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <3> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Rains Crossroads) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Rains Crossroads. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 35.5143, Longitude: -78.1448 |
| <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 Rains Crossroads 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 308.677 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 303.826 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 306.372 degrees. |