Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Fort Parker, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Fort Parker and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Fort Parker
- 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 Fort Parker:
- 31.563781, -96.547204
- 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 Fort Parker
- 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 Limestone County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Limestone County
- Since Fort Parker is near Freestone County and also McLennan County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Freestone County
- eBird sighting report for McLennan 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 Fort Parker ...
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.
- Big Hill
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest) - Box Church
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Box Church have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Box Church
- Box Church is located in Limestone County
- Center
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast) - Davis Prairie
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Davis Prairie have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Davis Prairie
- Davis Prairie is located in Limestone County
- Forest Glade
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Forest Glade have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest Glade
- Forest Glade is located in Limestone County
- Horn Hill
(5 miles [8 km] to the west) - Lavender
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west) - Pleasant Grove
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pleasant Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Grove
- Pleasant Grove is located in Limestone County
- Prairie Grove
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Prairie Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairie Grove
- Prairie Grove is located in Limestone County
- Red Hill
(5 miles [8 km] to the south) - Sandy
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
How Far From Fort Parker 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 Fort Parker to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<2> beginning in Fort Parker and extending to:
- Groesbeck, which is the Seat of Limestone County, lies just to the South Southeast.
- Austin, which is the State Capital of Texas, lies 114 miles [183.5 km]<2> to the southwest (SW). If you could drive a straight line from Fort Parker to Austin, with an average speed<3>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take about two hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 7 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 5 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 1,208 miles [1,944.1 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take about three full days, a buggy would take 48 days and walking would take 69 days.
- The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 7,039 miles [11,328.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,769 miles [12,503 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,646 miles [9,086.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Fort Parker. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for State of Texas: https://texas.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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. |
| <2> | 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 drawn from Point A (ie- Fort Parker) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Fort Parker. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 31.5638, Longitude: -96.5472 In this case, the coordinates for Fort Parker have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <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 Fort Parker to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <5> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 319.615 degrees. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 315.949 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 314.679 degrees. |