Outdoor Activities ...

As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).

When in Alsonia, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Alsonia and the surrounding area.

• Weather ...
  • Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
  • The National Weather Service forecast for Alsonia

• 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 Alsonia:
  • 26.438400, -98.146398
  • 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 Alsonia

• 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 Hidalgo County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
  • Open the eBird sighting report for Hidalgo County
  • Since Alsonia is near Willacy County and also Cameron County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
  • Open the eBird sighting report for Willacy County
  • Open the eBird sighting report for Cameron 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 Alsonia

Curious and Interesting Names Near Alsonia ...

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.

• Cottonwood
  (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Cottonwood is located in Hidalgo County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cottonwood
  • Cottonwood has also been known as:
  • Cottonwood Colonia
• Lull
  (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Lull is located in Hidalgo County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lull
• Meadow Lands
  (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Meadow Lands is located in Hidalgo County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadow Lands
  • Meadow Lands has also been known as:
  • Meadow Lands Colonia
• Merrill
  (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
  • Merrill is located in Hidalgo County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merrill
  • Merrill has also been known as:
  • Merrill Colonia
• Red Gate
  (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Red Gate is located in Hidalgo County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Gate
• River Bend
  (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
  • River Bend is located in Hidalgo County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for River Bend
  • River Bend has also been known as:
  • River Bend Colonia
• Sandy Ridge
  (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Sandy Ridge is located in Hidalgo County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandy Ridge
  • Sandy Ridge has also been known as:
  • Sandy Ridge Colonia
• Seminary Village
  (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Seminary Village is located in Hidalgo County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seminary Village
  • Seminary Village has also been known as:
  • Seminary Village Colonia
• Spring Gardens
  (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Spring Gardens is located in Hidalgo County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Gardens
  • Spring Gardens has also been known as:
  • Spring Gardens Colonia
• Summerwood
  (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Summerwood is located in Hidalgo County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summerwood
  • Summerwood has also been known as:
  • Summerwood Colonia
• Twin Lake
  (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Twin Lake is located in Hidalgo County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twin Lake
  • Twin Lake has also been known as:
  • Twin Lake Colonia

How Far From Alsonia 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 Alsonia to various places of note, such as the White House.

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<1> beginning in Alsonia and extending to:

• Edinburg, which is the Seat of Hidalgo County, lies 9 miles [14.5 km]<1> to the south. If you could walk a straight line from Alsonia to Edinburg, with an average speed<2> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take four to five hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take a little over three hours.
• Austin, which is the State Capital of Texas, lies 265 miles [426.5 km] to the north (N). 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 15 days.
• The White House (Washington, DC) is 1,492 miles [2,401.1 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take most of three days, a buggy would take 59 days and walking would take 85 days.
• The shortest distance<3> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 7,371 miles [11,862.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<4>
• The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 8,090 miles [13,019.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
• The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,965 miles [9,599.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>'