Outdoor Activities ...

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

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

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

• 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 Ben Wheeler:
  • 32.445974, -95.703852
  • 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 Ben Wheeler

• 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 Van Zandt County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
  • Open the eBird sighting report for Van Zandt County
  • Since Ben Wheeler is near Smith County and also Henderson County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
  • Open the eBird sighting report for Smith County
  • Open the eBird sighting report for Henderson 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 Ben Wheeler

Curious and Interesting Names Near Ben Wheeler ...

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.

• Garden Valley
  (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Garden Valley is located in Smith County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garden Valley
• Holly Springs
  (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Holly Springs is located in Van Zandt County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holly Springs
• Jamestown
  (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Jamestown is located in Smith County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jamestown
• Jones
  (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
  • Jones is located in Van Zandt County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jones
• Mars
  (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Mars is located in Van Zandt County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mars
• Martins Mill
  (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Martins Mill is located in Van Zandt County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Martins Mill
• Sand Flat
  (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
  • Sand Flat is located in Van Zandt County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sand Flat
• Tundra
  (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
  • Tundra is located in Van Zandt County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tundra
• Union Hill
  (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Union Hill is located in Henderson County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union Hill

How Far From Ben Wheeler to ...

We spend a lot of time looking through Gazetteers, Almanacs & Directories that were published in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Many of the Gazetteers include the distance from a community such as Ben Wheeler to various places of note, such as the White House.

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

• Canton, which is the Seat of Van Zandt County, lies 11 miles [17.7 km]<1> to the northwest. If you could walk a straight line from Ben Wheeler to Canton, with an average speed<2> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take five to six hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take nearly four hours.
• Austin, which is the State Capital of Texas, lies 192 miles [309 km] to the southwest (SW). 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 11 days.
• The White House (Washington, DC) is 1,135 miles [1,826.6 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<3> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,960 miles [11,201 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<4>
• The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,691 miles [12,377.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
• The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,568 miles [8,960.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>'