Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Cracker Jack, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Cracker Jack and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Cracker Jack
- 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 Cracker Jack:
- 40.167571, -79.964495
- 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 Cracker Jack
- 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 Washington County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Washington County
- Since Cracker Jack is near Allegheny County and also Westmoreland County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Allegheny County
- eBird sighting report for Westmoreland 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 Cracker Jack ...
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.
- Black Diamond
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Diamond
- Black Diamond is located in Washington County
- Elkhorn
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north) - Farquhar
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest) - Fisher
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east) - Ginger Hill
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ginger Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ginger Hill
- Ginger Hill is located in Washington County
- Jonestown
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south) - Lockview
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east) - Lover
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south) - New Eagle
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for New Eagle have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Eagle
- New Eagle is located in Washington County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,079 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for New Eagle <2>
- Continue List (6 more) ...
- River View
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for River View have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for River View
- River View is located in Washington County
- Riverview
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast) - Rogers Stop
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rogers Stop have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rogers Stop
- Rogers Stop is located in Washington County
- Sunny Side
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sunny Side have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunny Side
- Sunny Side is located in Allegheny County
- Twin Bridges
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Twin Bridges have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twin Bridges
- Twin Bridges is located in Washington County
- Victory Hills
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Victory Hills have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Victory Hills
- Victory Hills is located in Washington County
- River View
How Far From Cracker Jack 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 Cracker Jack to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<3> beginning in Cracker Jack and extending to:
- Washington, which is the Seat of Washington County, lies 14 miles [22.5 km]<3> to the west. If you could walk a straight line from Cracker Jack to Washington, with an average speed<4> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take most of a day to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take four to five hours.
- Harrisburg, which is the State Capital of Pennsylvania, lies 162 miles [260.7 km] to the east (E). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than three hours, a buggy would take 7 days and walking would take 10 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 178 miles [286.5 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving would take a little over three hours, a buggy would take 7 days and walking would take 11 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,964 miles [9,598.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,681 miles [10,752 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,557 miles [7,333.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Cracker Jack. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Washington County: www.co.washington.pa.us/
The official website for State of Pennsylvania: https://www.pa.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 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Cracker Jack) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Cracker Jack. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 40.1676, Longitude: -79.9645 In this case, the coordinates for Cracker Jack 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 Cracker Jack 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 309.581 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 305.555 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 305.51 degrees. |