Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Rand, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Rand and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Rand
- 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 Rand:
- 32.539026, -96.176364
- 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 Rand
- 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 Kaufman County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Kaufman County
- Since Rand is near Van Zandt County and also Henderson County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Van Zandt County
- eBird sighting report for Henderson 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 Rand ...
We found eleven communities that share the name Rand.
Within Texas, the name Rand is unique.
Beyond Texas, we know of another eleven communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these eleven communities, ten are located in the United States and one is in Canada.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- California
- Colorado
- Jackson County
- This Rand is located in Jackson County and lies 778 miles [1,252.1 km]<1> to the northwest of the Rand that is located in Kaufman County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Jackson County community of Rand.
- Larimer County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<2> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Colorado community of Rand [Larimer County].
- Michigan
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- Ontario
- This Rand lies 1,187 miles [1,910.3 km]<1> to the north northeast of the Rand that is located in Kaufman County.
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- Allegheny County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<2> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Pennsylvania community of Rand [Allegheny County].
- Union County
- This Rand is located in Union County and lies 1,200 miles [1,931.2 km]<1> to the northeast of the Rand that is located in Kaufman County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Union County community of Rand.
- West Virginia
Curious and Interesting Names Near Rand ...
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.
- Cartwright
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cartwright have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cartwright
- Cartwright is located in Kaufman County
- Elmo
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Elmo have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elmo
- Elmo is located in Kaufman County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Elmo <5>
- Frog
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north) - Grays Prairie
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Grays Prairie have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grays Prairie
- Grays Prairie is located in Kaufman County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 388 people
- Lively
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest) - Lone Star
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest) - Oak Grove
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west) - Post Oak Bend
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Post Oak Bend have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Post Oak Bend
- Post Oak Bend is located in Kaufman County
- Post Oak Bend City
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Post Oak Bend City have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Post Oak Bend City
- Post Oak Bend City is located in Kaufman County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 626 people
- Prairieville
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Prairieville have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairieville
- Prairieville is located in Kaufman County
- Scurry
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Scurry have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scurry
- Scurry is located in Kaufman County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 811 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Scurry <5>
- Wise
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
How Far From Rand 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 Rand to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Rand and extending to:
- Kaufman, which is the Seat of Kaufman County, lies just to the West Northwest.
- Austin, which is the State Capital of Texas, lies 182 miles [292.9 km]<1> to the south southwest (SSW). If you could drive a straight line from Rand to Austin, with an average speed<6>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take a little over three hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 11 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 8 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 1,156 miles [1,860.4 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take over two days, a buggy would take 46 days and walking would take 66 days.
- The shortest distance<7> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,973 miles [11,222 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,705 miles [12,400 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,583 miles [8,985 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<10>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Rand. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Kaufman County: www.kaufmancounty.net/
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' (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- Rand) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Rand. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 32.5390, Longitude: -96.1764 In this case, the coordinates for Rand have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <2> | 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 Mile's to see Pete ... Mile's 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 Rand 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. |
| <3> | 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 Rand, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <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 Rand 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 319.498 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 315.936 degrees. |
| <10> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 314.41 degrees. |