Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Grays, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Grays and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Grays
- 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 Grays:
- 40.395903, -79.239757
- 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 Grays
- 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 Westmoreland County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Westmoreland County
- Since Grays is near Indiana County and also Armstrong County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Indiana County
- eBird sighting report for Armstrong 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 Grays ...
We found eleven communities that share the name Grays.
Within Pennsylvania, the name Grays is unique.
Beyond Pennsylvania, we know of another eleven communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these eleven communities, ten are located in the United States and one is in Canada.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Arkansas
- Colorado
- Georgia
- Idaho
- Louisiana
- Michigan
- Ohio
- Ontario
- This Grays lies 212 miles [341.2 km]<1> to the northwest of the Grays that is located in Westmoreland County.
- South Carolina
- Virginia
- Washington
Curious and Interesting Names Near Grays ...
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 Lick
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Black Lick have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Lick
- Black Lick is located in Indiana County
- Bow
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest) - Climax
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east) - Cokeville ‑ Historic
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest) - Germany
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east) - Hillside
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest) - India
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east) - Josephine
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Josephine
- Josephine is located in Indiana County
- Livermore
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest) - Lockport
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east) - Marshall Heights
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Marshall Heights have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marshall Heights
- Marshall Heights is located in Indiana County
- Peanut
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest) - Superior
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
How Far From Grays 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 Grays to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Grays and extending to:
- Greensburg, which is the Seat of Westmoreland County, lies 17 miles [27.4 km]<1> to the west southwest. If you could walk a straight line from Grays to Greensburg, 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 five to six hours.
- Harrisburg, which is the State Capital of Pennsylvania, lies 124 miles [199.6 km] to the east (E). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take about two hours, a buggy would take 5 days and walking would take 7 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 156 miles [251.1 km] to the southeast (SE). Driving would take less than three hours, a buggy would take 6 days and walking would take 9 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,925 miles [9,535.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,641 miles [10,687.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,516 miles [7,267.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Grays. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Westmoreland County: www.co.westmoreland.pa.us/
The official website for Commonwealth of Pennsylvania: https://www.pa.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 from Point A (ie- Grays) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Grays. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 40.3959, Longitude: -79.2398 In this case, the coordinates for Grays 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 Grays 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 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 Grays 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 309.124 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 305.071 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 305.101 degrees. |