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Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Smiths Bend, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Smiths Bend and the surrounding area.
- 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 Smiths Bend:
- 31.830160, -97.304455
- 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.
- Open the Heavens-Above website centered on Smiths Bend
- 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 Bosque County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- Open the eBird sighting report for Bosque County
- Since Smiths Bend is near Hill County and also McLennan County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- Open the eBird sighting report for Hill County
- Open the eBird sighting report for McLennan 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:
- Open the Waymark.com report for Smiths Bend
Curious and Interesting Names Near Smiths Bend ...
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 Shores
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Cedar Shores is located in Bosque County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Shores
- China Spring
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Cottonwood
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Cottonwood is located in McLennan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cottonwood
- Elm Mott
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Patrick
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Patrick is located in McLennan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Patrick
- Prairie Valley
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Prairie Valley is located in Hill County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairie Valley
- Rock Creek
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Rock Creek is located in McLennan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock Creek
- Rock Springs
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Rock Springs is located in Bosque County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock Springs
- Rogers Hill
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Rogers Hill is located in McLennan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rogers Hill
- Tours
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Tours is located in McLennan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tours
- Valley Mills
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
How Far From Smiths Bend 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 Smiths Bend to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<2> beginning in Smiths Bend and extending to:
- Meridian, which is the Seat of Bosque County, lies 21 miles [33.8 km]<2> to the west northwest. If you could walk a straight line from Smiths Bend to Meridian, with an average speed<3> 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 110 miles [177 km] to the south southwest (SSW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take about two hours, a buggy would take 5 days and walking would take 7 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 1,237 miles [1,990.8 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take about three full days, a buggy would take 49 days and walking would take 71 days.
- The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 7,053 miles [11,350.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,786 miles [12,530.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,664 miles [9,115.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>'
Footnotes ...
| <1> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <2> | 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- Smiths Bend) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <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 Smiths Bend to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Smiths Bend. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 31.8302, Longitude: -97.3045 In this case, the coordinates for Smiths Bend have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <5> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 320.154 degrees. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 316.618 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 314.986 degrees. |
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