RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
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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 Ables Springs, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Ables Springs and the surrounding area.

  • Weather ...
  • 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 Ables Springs:
    • 32.815371, -96.119968
    • 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 Ables Springs
  • 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:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Kaufman County
    • Since Ables Springs is near Hunt County and also Van Zandt County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Hunt County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Van Zandt 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 Ables Springs

Curious and Interesting Names Near Ables Springs ...

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.

  • Cash
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Cash is located in Hunt County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cash
  • Cedar Grove
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Cedar Grove is located in Kaufman County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Grove
  • Elmo
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Frog
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Frog is located in Kaufman County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frog
  • Harris
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Harris is located in Hunt County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harris
  • Hawk Cove
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Hawk Cove is located in Hunt County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hawk Cove
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 562 people
  • Hooker Ridge
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Poetry
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  • Union Valley
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Union Valley is located in Hunt County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union Valley
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 461 people

How Far From Ables Springs 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 community such as Ables Springs to various places of note, such as the White House.

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<2> beginning in Ables Springs and extending to:

  • Kaufman, which is the Seat of Kaufman County, lies 19 miles [30.6 km]<2> to the southwest. If you could walk a straight line from Ables Springs to Kaufman, 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 6 hours.
  • Austin, which is the State Capital of Texas, lies 200 miles [321.9 km] to the south southwest (SSW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take a little over three hours, a buggy would take 8 days and walking would take 12 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 1,144 miles [1,841.1 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take over two days, a buggy would take 45 days and walking would take 65 days.
  • The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,957 miles [11,196.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,689 miles [12,374.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,567 miles [8,959.2 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 'straight-line' (or 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- Ables Springs) 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 Ables Springs 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 Ables Springs. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 32.8154, Longitude: -96.1200    
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 319.495 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 315.967 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 314.353 degrees.