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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 Beacon, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Beacon 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 Beacon:
- 31.182681, -96.811650
- 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 Beacon
- 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 Falls County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- Open the eBird sighting report for Falls County
- Since Beacon is near Robertson County and also Milam County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- Open the eBird sighting report for Robertson County
- Open the eBird sighting report for Milam 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 Beacon
Communities Also Named Beacon ...
We found five communities that are also named Beacon.
Within Texas, the name Beacon is unique.
Beyond Texas, we know of five communities that are located in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Alabama
- Butler County
- This Beacon is located in Butler County and lies 589 miles [947.9 km]<1> to the east of the Beacon that is located in Falls County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Butler County community of Beacon.
- Iowa
- Mahaska County
- This Beacon is located in Mahaska County and lies 733 miles [1,179.6 km]<1> to the north northeast of the Beacon that is located in Falls County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Mahaska County community of Beacon.
- Michigan
- Marquette County
- This Beacon is located in Marquette County and lies 1,158 miles [1,863.6 km]<1> to the north northeast of the Beacon that is located in Falls County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Marquette County community of Beacon.
- New York
- Dutchess County
- This Beacon is located in Dutchess County and lies 1,450 miles [2,333.5 km]<1> to the northeast of the Beacon that is located in Falls County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Dutchess County community of Beacon.
- Tennessee
- Decatur County
- This Beacon is located in Decatur County and lies 584 miles [939.9 km]<1> to the northeast of the Beacon that is located in Falls County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Decatur County community of Beacon.
Curious and Interesting Names Near Beacon ...
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 Springs
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Cedar Springs is located in Falls County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Springs
- Highbank
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Highbank is located in Falls County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highbank
- Long Branch
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Long Branch is located in Falls County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Long Branch
- Marlin
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Mustang
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Mustang is located in Falls County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mustang
- Pleasant Grove
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Pleasant Grove is located in Falls County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Grove
- Rosebud
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Salter
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Salter is located in Robertson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salter
- Stranger
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Stranger is located in Falls County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stranger
- Sunrise
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Sunrise is located in Falls County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunrise
- Triangle
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Triangle is located in Falls County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Triangle
How Far From Beacon 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 Beacon to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Beacon and extending to:
- Marlin, which is the Seat of Falls County, lies 9 miles [14.5 km]<1> to the north northwest. If you could walk a straight line from Beacon to Marlin, with an average speed<3> 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 83 miles [133.6 km] to the southwest (SW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than two hours, a buggy would take most of three days and walking would take 5 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 1,234 miles [1,985.9 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 7,069 miles [11,376.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,799 miles [12,551.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,675 miles [9,133 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>'
Footnotes ...
| <1> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Beacon) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <2> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <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 Beacon 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 Beacon. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 31.1827, Longitude: -96.8117 In this case, the coordinates for Beacon have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <5> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 319.736 degrees. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 316.044 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 314.833 degrees. |
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