Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Abilene, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Abilene and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Abilene
- 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 Abilene:
- 32.449529, -99.732974
- 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 Abilene
- 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 Taylor County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Taylor County
- Since Abilene is near Jones County and also Callahan County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Jones County
- eBird sighting report for Callahan 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 Abilene ...
We found six communities that share the name Abilene.
Within Texas, the name Abilene is unique.
Beyond Texas, we know of another six communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these six communities, five are located in the United States and one is in Canada.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Alberta
- This Abilene lies 1,603 miles [2,579.8 km]<1> to the north northwest of the Abilene that is located in Taylor County.
- Arkansas
- California
- Georgia
- Kansas
- Virginia
- Alberta
Curious and Interesting Names Near Abilene ...
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.
- Buffalo Gap
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buffalo Gap
- Buffalo Gap is located in Taylor County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 582 people
- Caps
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest) - Clyde
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Clyde have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clyde
- Clyde is located in Callahan County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,881 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Clyde <4>
- Elmdale
(5 miles [8 km] to the east) - Impact
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north) - Mount Pleasant
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mount Pleasant have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Pleasant
- Mount Pleasant is located in Taylor County
- Phantom Hill
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Phantom Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Phantom Hill
- Phantom Hill is located in Jones County
- View
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
How Far From Abilene to ...
We spend a lot of time looking through Gazetteers that were published in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Many of the Gazetteers include the distance from a city such as Abilene to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Abilene and extending to:
- Austin, which is the State Capital of Texas, lies 190 miles [305.8 km]<1> to the southeast (SE). If you could drive a straight line from Abilene to Austin, with an average speed<5>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 1,344 miles [2,163 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take about three full days, a buggy would take 53 days and walking would take 77 days.
- The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 7,109 miles [11,440.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,850 miles [12,633.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,733 miles [9,226.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Abilene: www.abilenetx.com/
The official website for Taylor County: www.taylorcountytexas.org/
The official website for State of Texas: https://texas.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Abilene) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Abilene. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 32.4495, Longitude: -99.7330 |
| <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 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 Abilene 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> | 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. |
| <4> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <5> | 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. |
| <6> | 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 Abilene to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 321.889 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 318.742 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 316.029 degrees. |