Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in McCrays, we use the following websites to find information relevant to McCrays and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for McCrays
- 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 McCrays:
- 41.490618, -79.094762
- 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 McCrays
- 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 Forest County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Forest County
- Since McCrays is near Elk County and also Clarion County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Elk County
- eBird sighting report for Clarion 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 McCrays ...
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.
- Balltown
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest) - Belltown
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south) - Blue Jay
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest) - Corduroy
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east) - Four Corners
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Four Corners have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Four Corners
- Four Corners is located in Elk County
- Iron City
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast) - Lynch
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north) - Mayburg
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest) - Millstone
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millstone
- Millstone is located in Elk County
- Minister
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north) - Pigeon
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast) - Pigs Ear
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast) - Roses
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest) - Truemans
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
How Far From McCrays 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 McCrays to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<3> beginning in McCrays and extending to:
- Tionesta, which is the Seat of Forest County, lies 18 miles [29 km]<3> to the west. If you could walk a straight line from McCrays to Tionesta, with an average speed<4> 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 five to six hours.
- Harrisburg, which is the State Capital of Pennsylvania, lies 142 miles [228.5 km] to the southeast (SE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than three hours, a buggy would take 6 days and walking would take 8 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 209 miles [336.4 km] to the south southeast (SSE). Driving would take a little over three hours, a buggy would take 9 days and walking would take 12 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,871 miles [9,448.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,591 miles [10,607.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,467 miles [7,188.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for McCrays. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Commonwealth of Pennsylvania: https://www.pa.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> | 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 from Point A (ie- McCrays) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in McCrays. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 41.4906, Longitude: -79.0948 In this case, the coordinates for McCrays 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 McCrays 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 308.967 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 305.061 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 304.617 degrees. |