Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Rayland, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Rayland and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Rayland
- 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 Rayland:
- 34.064263, -99.481283
- 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 Rayland
- 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 Foard County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Foard County
- Since Rayland is near Wilbarger County and also Hardeman County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Wilbarger County
- eBird sighting report for Hardeman 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 Rayland ...
We found one communities that share the name Rayland.
Within Texas, the name Rayland is unique.
Beyond Texas, there is another community also named Rayland in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
Curious and Interesting Names Near Rayland ...
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.
- Fargo
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fargo
- Fargo is located in Wilbarger County
- Farmers Valley
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Farmers Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Farmers Valley
- Farmers Valley is located in Wilbarger County
- Grayback
(18 miles [29 km] to the east) - Hinds
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast) - Hoot and Holler Crossing
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hoot and Holler Crossing have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hoot and Holler Crossing
- Hoot and Holler Crossing is located in Wilbarger County
- Lockett
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lockett
- Lockett is located in Wilbarger County
- Margaret
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Margaret
- Margaret is located in Foard County
- Medicine Mound ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Medicine Mound have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Medicine Mound
- Medicine Mound is located in Hardeman County
- Rock Crossing
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rock Crossing have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock Crossing
- Rock Crossing is located in Wilbarger County
How Far From Rayland 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 Rayland to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Rayland and extending to:
- Crowell, which is the Seat of Foard County, lies 15 miles [24.1 km]<1> to the west southwest. If you could walk a straight line from Rayland to Crowell, with an average speed<3> 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 281 miles [452.2 km] to the south southeast (SSE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take four to five hours, a buggy would take 11 days and walking would take 16 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 1,286 miles [2,069.6 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take about three full days, a buggy would take 51 days and walking would take 73 days.
- The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 7,013 miles [11,286.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,757 miles [12,483.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,643 miles [9,081.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Rayland. 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- Rayland) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Rayland. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 34.0643, Longitude: -99.4813 |
| <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> | 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. |
| <4> | 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 Rayland to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <5> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 321.932 degrees. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 318.988 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 315.761 degrees. |