Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in MacBain, we use the following websites to find information relevant to MacBain and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for MacBain
- 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 MacBain:
- 33.893690, -100.974863
- 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 MacBain
- 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 Motley County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Motley County
- Since MacBain is near Floyd County and also Dickens County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Floyd County
- eBird sighting report for Dickens 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 MacBain ...
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.
- Cedar Hill
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cedar Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Hill
- Cedar Hill is located in Floyd County
- Dickens
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dickens
- Dickens is located in Dickens County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 251 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Dickens <2>
- Elton
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast) - Glenn
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast) - Lakeview
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west) - Matador
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Matador have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Matador
- Matador is located in Motley County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 605 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Matador <2>
- Plains Assembly
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Plains Assembly have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plains Assembly
- Plains Assembly is located in Floyd County
- Roaring Springs
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Roaring Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roaring Springs
- Roaring Springs is located in Motley County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 228 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Roaring Springs <2>
- Wake
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
How Far From MacBain to ...
We spend a lot of time looking through Gazetteers that were published in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Many of the Gazetteers include the distance from a community such as MacBain to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<3> beginning in MacBain and extending to:
- Matador, which is the Seat of Motley County, lies 12 miles [19.3 km]<3> to the northeast. If you could walk a straight line from MacBain to Matador, with an average speed<4> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take five to six hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take nearly four hours.
- Austin, which is the State Capital of Texas, lies 313 miles [503.7 km] to the southeast (SE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take five to six hours, a buggy would take 13 days and walking would take 18 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 1,370 miles [2,204.8 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take about three full days, a buggy would take 54 days and walking would take 78 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 7,074 miles [11,384.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,821 miles [12,586.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,711 miles [9,191 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for MacBain. 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> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <3> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- MacBain) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in MacBain. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 33.8937, Longitude: -100.9749 In this case, the coordinates for MacBain have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <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 MacBain 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 322.954 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 320.173 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 316.49 degrees. |