RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Texas >> Gray County >> Back >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).

When in Back, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Back and the surrounding area.

  • 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 Back:
    • 35.364770, -100.609857
    • 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.
    • Open the Heavens-Above website centered on Back
  • 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 Gray County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Gray County
    • Since Back is near Wheeler County and also Donley County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Wheeler County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Donley 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:
    • Open the Waymark.com report for Back

Communities Also Named Back ...

We found five communities that are also named Back.

Within Texas, the name Back is unique.

Beyond Texas, we know of two communities that are located in the United States and Canada. Of these two communities, one is located in the United States and the other in Canada.

In addition to the above occurrences of Back, we know of three communities located outside of the United States and Canada.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Kentucky
      • Menifee County
      • This Back is located in Menifee County and lies 963 miles [1,549.8 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Back that is located in Gray County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Menifee County community of Back.
    • Manitoba
      • This Back lies 1,568 miles [2,523.5 km]<1> to the north of the Back that is located in Gray County.
  • Communities Beyond North America ...
    • Scotland
      • Distance: 4,322 miles [6,955.6 km]<1> to the northeast
      • Open a Google Map centered on Back
    • Sweden
      • - Vaesterbotten
      • Distance: 4,864 miles [7,827.8 km]<1> to the north northeast
      • Open a Google Map centered on Back
      • - Vaesternorrland
      • Distance: 4,843 miles [7,794.1 km] to the north northeast
      • Open a Google Map centered on Back

Curious and Interesting Names Near Back ...

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.

  • Heaton
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Heaton is located in Gray County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heaton
  • Hoover
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Hoover is located in Gray County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hoover
  • Kingsmill ‑ Historic
    (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • Kingsmill is located in Gray County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kingsmill
  • Kingsmill Camp
    (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • Kingsmill Camp is located in Gray County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kingsmill Camp
  • Magic City
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Magic City is located in Wheeler County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Magic City
  • Rockledge
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Rockledge is located in Donley County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockledge
  • Shamrock
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Twitty
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • Twitty is located in Wheeler County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twitty
  • Wayside
    (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Wayside is located in Roberts County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wayside

How Far From Back to ...

We spend a lot of time looking through Gazetteers & Almanacs that were published in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Many of the Gazetteers include the distance from a community such as Back to various places of note, such as the White House.

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Back and extending to:

  • Pampa, which is the Seat of Gray County, lies 23 miles [37 km]<1> to the west northwest. If you could walk a straight line from Back to Pampa, with an average speed<3> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take just about two full days to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take most of a day.
  • Austin, which is the State Capital of Texas, lies 389 miles [626 km] to the south southeast (SSE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take most of a day, a buggy would take 16 days and walking would take 23 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 1,316 miles [2,117.9 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take about three full days, a buggy would take 52 days and walking would take 75 days.
  • The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,981 miles [11,234.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,730 miles [12,440.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,623 miles [9,049.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>'

Footnotes ...

<1>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- Back) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<3>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.
<4>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 Back to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Back. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 35.3648, Longitude: -100.6099       In this case, the coordinates for Back have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 322.881 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 320.261 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 316.171 degrees.