Outdoor Activities ...

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

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

• Weather ...
  • Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
  • The National Weather Service forecast for Laird Hill

• 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 Laird Hill:
  • 32.353207, -94.905494
  • 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 Laird Hill

• 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 Rusk County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
  • Open the eBird sighting report for Rusk County
  • Since Laird Hill is near Gregg County and also Smith County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
  • Open the eBird sighting report for Gregg County
  • Open the eBird sighting report for Smith 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 Laird Hill

Curious and Interesting Names Near Laird Hill ...

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.

• Craig
  (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Craig is located in Rusk County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Craig
• Cross Roads
  (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Cross Roads is located in Rusk County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cross Roads
• Danville
  (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • Danville is located in Gregg County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Danville
• Friars
  (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
  • Friars is located in Rusk County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Friars
• Jacobs
  (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Jacobs is located in Rusk County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jacobs
• Jamestown ‑ Historic
  (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Jamestown is located in Smith County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jamestown
  • Jamestown has also been known as:
  • Jimtown
• Liberty City
  (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Liberty City is located in Gregg County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty City
• London
  (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
  • London is located in Rusk County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for London
• Old London
  (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
  • Old London is located in Rusk County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old London
• Red Level
  (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • Red Level is located in Rusk County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Level
• Rolling Meadows
  (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Rolling Meadows is located in Gregg County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rolling Meadows

How Far From Laird Hill 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 Laird Hill to various places of note, such as the White House.

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<1> beginning in Laird Hill and extending to:

• Henderson, which is the Seat of Rusk County, lies 15 miles [24.1 km]<1> to the south southeast. If you could walk a straight line from Laird Hill to Henderson, with an average speed<2> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take most of a day to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take four to five hours.
• Austin, which is the State Capital of Texas, lies 220 miles [354.1 km] to the southwest (SW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take nearly four hours, a buggy would take 9 days and walking would take 13 days.
• The White House (Washington, DC) is 1,097 miles [1,765.5 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<3> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,935 miles [11,160.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<4>
• The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,663 miles [12,332.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
• The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,539 miles [8,914.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>'