Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Lily Island, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Lily Island and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Lily Island
- 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 Lily Island:
- 30.903366, -94.712001
- 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 Lily Island
- 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 Polk County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Polk County
- Since Lily Island is near Tyler County and also Angelina County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Tyler County
- eBird sighting report for Angelina 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 Lily Island ...
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.
- Chester
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chester
- Chester is located in Tyler County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 310 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Chester <1>
- Hortense
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south) - Moscow
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Moscow have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moscow
- Moscow is located in Polk County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Moscow <1>
- Peach Tree Village
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Peach Tree Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peach Tree Village
- Peach Tree Village is located in Tyler County
- Pleasant Hill
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pleasant Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Hill
- Pleasant Hill is located in Polk County
- Pluck
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north) - Seven Oaks
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Seven Oaks have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seven Oaks
- Seven Oaks is located in Polk County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 131 people
- Skinner Town
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Skinner Town have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Skinner Town
- Skinner Town is located in Polk County
- Snow Hill
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
How Far From Lily Island 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 Lily Island to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<3> beginning in Lily Island and extending to:
- Livingston, which is the Seat of Polk County, lies 18 miles [29 km]<3> to the southwest. If you could walk a straight line from Lily Island to Livingston, with an average speed<4> 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 five to six hours.
- Austin, which is the State Capital of Texas, lies 185 miles [297.7 km] to the west southwest (WSW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take a little over three hours, a buggy would take 8 days and walking would take 11 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 1,140 miles [1,834.7 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take over two days, a buggy would take 45 days and walking would take 65 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 7,002 miles [11,268.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,725 miles [12,432.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,600 miles [9,012.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Lily Island. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for State of Texas: https://texas.gov/
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> | 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. |
| <3> | 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- Lily Island) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Lily Island. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 30.9034, Longitude: -94.7120 |
| <4> | 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. |
| <5> | 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 Lily Island to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 318.329 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 314.353 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 313.964 degrees. |