Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Plain, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Plain and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Plain
- 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 Plain:
- 31.451569, -95.110216
- 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 Plain
- 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 Houston County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Houston County
- Since Plain is near Cherokee County and also Angelina County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Cherokee 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
Communities Also Named Plain ...
We found eight communities that share the name Plain.
Within Texas, the name Plain is unique.
Beyond Texas, we know of another eight communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Massachusetts
- Mississippi
- New Mexico
- North Carolina
- Ohio
- Stark County
- This Plain is located in Stark County and lies 1,003 miles [1,614.2 km]<1> to the northeast of the Plain that is located in Houston County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Stark County community of Plain.
- Wayne County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<3> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Ohio community of Plain [Wayne County].
- Washington
- Wisconsin
Curious and Interesting Names Near Plain ...
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 City ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bluff City have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bluff City
- Bluff City is located in Houston County
- Bobbittville ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bobbittville have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bobbittville
- Bobbittville is located in Houston County
- Cross Roads
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cross Roads have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cross Roads
- Cross Roads is located in Cherokee County
- Fog Town
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south) - Forest
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest
- Forest is located in Cherokee County
- Kennedy Crossing
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kennedy Crossing have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kennedy Crossing
- Kennedy Crossing is located in Houston County
- Ratcliff
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ratcliff
- Ratcliff is located in Houston County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ratcliff <5>
- Redtown
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redtown
- Redtown is located in Angelina County
- Stubblefield
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Stubblefield have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stubblefield
- Stubblefield is located in Houston County
- Sweet Union
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sweet Union have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sweet Union
- Sweet Union is located in Cherokee County
- Walker Crossing
(Less than 2 miles to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Walker Crossing have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walker Crossing
- Walker Crossing is located in Houston County
- Weeping Mary
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weeping Mary
- Weeping Mary is located in Cherokee County
How Far From Plain 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 Plain to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Plain and extending to:
- Crockett, which is the Seat of Houston County, lies 22 miles [35.4 km]<1> to the west southwest. If you could walk a straight line from Plain to Crockett, with an average speed<6> 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 most of a day.
- Austin, which is the State Capital of Texas, lies 176 miles [283.2 km] to the west southwest (WSW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take about three hours, a buggy would take 7 days and walking would take 10 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 1,139 miles [1,833 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<7> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,989 miles [11,247.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,715 miles [12,416.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,591 miles [8,997.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<10>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Plain. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for State of Texas: https://texas.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Plain) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Plain. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 31.4516, Longitude: -95.1102 In this case, the coordinates for Plain have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <2> | We use the term 'Historic' broadly and it generally means that the community no longer exists. However, it can also mean that the community might still exist, but was significantly larger or had a more 'official' existence in the past than it does now. Unfortunately our sources of data have proven to be unreliable. If you can provide us with more specific information about Plain, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <3> | If we encounter the name of what might be a community, our methodology is to add that name to our Gazetteer as a placeholder. As we find more information about that community, it will be added to our Gazetteer. Just as a reminder: Our definition of a community is rather broad and includes those places (or areas) where several families lived and had a name which identified that place. For example, you might hear somebody say that they are going over to Bird Creek to see Pete ... Bird Creek is just a gas station and a couple of homes at the crossroads. While it might not be on the map, everybody in the area knows it by that name. Places of interest include buildings at a crossroad, several families clustered in a hollow or maybe the location of a way station. It also includes places like mines, lumber camps, ferry crossings, etc. The community might still exist, is now gone or only existed for just a short period of time. Also keep in mind that Plain could have been on the original document by mistake, misspelled, the original/alternate name of a community that we've listed elsewhere or was placed in the wrong county. Sometimes a post office or train station would have a different name than the community where it's located, so two names might be referring to the same community - we're working to straighten it all out. |
| <4> | 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. |
| <5> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <6> | 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. |
| <7> | 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 Plain to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 318.659 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 314.812 degrees. |
| <10> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 314.071 degrees. |