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Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Direct, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Direct 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 Direct:
- 33.820604, -95.835842
- 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 Direct
- 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 Lamar County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- Open the eBird sighting report for Lamar County
- Since Direct is near Bryan County and also Fannin County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- Open the eBird sighting report for Bryan County
- Open the eBird sighting report for Fannin 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 Direct
Curious and Interesting Names Near Direct ...
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.
- Bluff
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Bluff is located in Choctaw County (OK)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bluff
- Georgia
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Georgia is located in Lamar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Georgia
- Globe
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Globe is located in Lamar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Globe
- Maxey
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Maxey is located in Lamar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maxey
- Monkstown
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Monkstown is located in Fannin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monkstown
- Ragtown
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Ragtown is located in Lamar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ragtown
- Telephone
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Tigertown
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Tigertown is located in Lamar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tigertown
- Unity
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Unity is located in Lamar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Unity
How Far From Direct 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 Direct to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<2> beginning in Direct and extending to:
- Paris, which is the Seat of Lamar County, lies 19 miles [30.6 km]<2> to the southeast. If you could walk a straight line from Direct to Paris, with an average speed<3> 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 6 hours.
- Austin, which is the State Capital of Texas, lies 269 miles [432.9 km] to the south southwest (SSW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take four to five hours, a buggy would take 11 days and walking would take 16 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 1,100 miles [1,770.3 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take over two days, a buggy would take 43 days and walking would take 63 days.
- The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,893 miles [11,093.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,628 miles [12,276.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,507 miles [8,862.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>'
Footnotes ...
| <1> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <2> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Direct) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <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 Direct 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 Direct. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 33.8206, Longitude: -95.8358 |
| <5> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 319.425 degrees. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 316.013 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 314.101 degrees. |
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