Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Smiley, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Smiley and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Smiley
- 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 Smiley:
- 29.269365, -97.637507
- 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 Smiley
- 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 Gonzales County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Gonzales County
- Since Smiley is near DeWitt County and also Wilson County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for DeWitt County
- eBird sighting report for Wilson 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 Smiley ...
We found eight communities that share the name Smiley.
Within Texas, the name Smiley is unique.
Beyond Texas, we know of another eight communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these eight communities, seven are located in the United States and one is in Canada.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Georgia
- Liberty County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<1> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Georgia community of Smiley [Liberty County].
- Long County
- This community is historic<2> and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Georgia community of Smiley [Long County].
- Indiana
- Ohio
- Pennsylvania
- Fayette County
- This Smiley is located in Fayette County and lies 1,245 miles [2,003.6 km]<3> to the northeast of the Smiley that is located in Gonzales County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Fayette County community of Smiley.
- Susquehanna County
- This Smiley is located in Susquehanna County and lies 1,503 miles [2,418.8 km] to the northeast of the Smiley that is located in Gonzales County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Susquehanna County community of Smiley.
- Saskatchewan
- This Smiley lies 1,659 miles [2,669.9 km]<3> to the north northwest of the Smiley that is located in Gonzales County.
- Virginia
- Georgia
Curious and Interesting Names Near Smiley ...
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.
- Cost
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast) - Dewville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dewville
- Dewville is located in Gonzales County
- Leesville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leesville
- Leesville is located in Gonzales County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Leesville <5>
- Nixon
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nixon
- Nixon is located in Gonzales County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,508 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Nixon <5>
- Old Davy
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south) - Pilgrim
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east) - Sample
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast) - Schoolland
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Schoolland have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Schoolland
- Schoolland is located in Gonzales County
- Union
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
How Far From Smiley 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 city such as Smiley to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Smiley and extending to:
- Gonzales, which is the Seat of Gonzales County, lies 19 miles [30.6 km]<3> to the north northeast. If you could walk a straight line from Smiley to Gonzales, 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 6 hours.
- Austin, which is the State Capital of Texas, lies 69 miles [111 km] to the north (N). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than two hours, a buggy would take about three full days and walking would take three full days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 1,348 miles [2,169.4 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take about three full days, a buggy would take 53 days and walking would take 77 days.
- The shortest distance<7> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 7,202 miles [11,590.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,928 miles [12,758.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,804 miles [9,340.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<10>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Smiley. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for State of Texas: https://texas.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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 Rock Creek to see Pete ... Rock 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 Smiley 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. |
| <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 Smiley, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <3> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Smiley) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Smiley. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 29.2694, Longitude: -97.6375 |
| <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 Smiley 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 319.989 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 316.10 degrees. |
| <10> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 315.35 degrees. |