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:
- 32.673788, -81.020386
- 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 Jasper County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Jasper County
- Since Grays is near Hampton County and also Beaufort County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Hampton County
- eBird sighting report for Beaufort 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 South Carolina, the name Grays is unique.
Beyond South Carolina, 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 699 miles [1,124.9 km]<1> to the north of the Grays that is located in Jasper County.
- Pennsylvania
- 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.
- Early Branch
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Early Branch
- Early Branch is located in Hampton County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Early Branch <3>
- Hickory Hill ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hickory Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hickory Hill
- Hickory Hill is located in Hampton County
- Horsegall
(5 miles [8 km] to the north) - Jonesville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Jonesville have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jonesville
- Jonesville is located in Colleton County
- Lena
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest) - Nixville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest) - Possum Corner
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Possum Corner have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Possum Corner
- Possum Corner is located in Jasper County
- Ricetown
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south) - Robertville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Robertville have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Robertville
- Robertville is located in Jasper County
- Rose Hill
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east) - Speaks Mill
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Speaks Mill have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Speaks Mill
- Speaks Mill is located in Hampton County
- Steep Bottom ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Steep Bottom have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Steep Bottom
- Steep Bottom is located in Hampton County
- Stokes
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
How Far From Grays 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 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:
- Ridgeland, which is the Seat of Jasper County, lies 13 miles [20.9 km]<1> to the south. If you could walk a straight line from Grays to Ridgeland, with an average speed<5> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take 6 hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take four to five hours.
- Columbia, which is the State Capital of South Carolina, lies 91 miles [146.5 km] to the north (N). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than two hours, a buggy would take most of three days and walking would take 6 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 484 miles [778.9 km] to the north northeast (NNE). Driving would take most of a day, a buggy would take 19 days and walking would take 28 days.
- The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,342 miles [10,206.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,029 miles [11,312.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,915 miles [7,909.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
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 Jasper County: www.jaspercountysc.org/
The official website for State of South Carolina: https://sc.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: 32.6738, Longitude: -81.0204 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 Rock Creek to see Pete ... Rock 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> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <4> | 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. |
| <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 Grays 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 310.29 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 305.264 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 308.291 degrees. |