Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Benchley, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Benchley and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Benchley
- 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 Benchley:
- 30.748529, -96.458577
- 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 Benchley
- 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 Robertson County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Robertson County
- Since Benchley is near Brazos County and also Burleson County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Brazos County
- eBird sighting report for Burleson 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
Curious and Interesting Names Near Benchley ...
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.
- Black Jack
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Black Jack have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Jack
- Black Jack is located in Robertson County
- Bryan
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bryan
- Bryan is located in Brazos County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 88,165 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bryan <2>
- Cottonwood
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cottonwood have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cottonwood
- Cottonwood is located in Brazos County
- Fountain
(5 miles [8 km] to the south) - Mooring
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest) - Mudville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest) - Steep Hollow
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Steep Hollow have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Steep Hollow
- Steep Hollow is located in Brazos County
- Stone City
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Stone City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stone City
- Stone City is located in Brazos County
- Union
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
How Far From Benchley 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 Benchley to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<3> beginning in Benchley and extending to:
- Franklin, which is the Seat of Robertson County, lies 19 miles [30.6 km]<3> to the north. If you could walk a straight line from Benchley to Franklin, with an average speed<4> 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 83 miles [133.6 km] to the west southwest (WSW). 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 1,232 miles [1,982.7 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take about three full days, a buggy would take 49 days and walking would take 70 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 7,078 miles [11,390.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,806 miles [12,562.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,682 miles [9,144.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Benchley. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for State of Texas: https://texas.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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. |
| <2> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <3> | 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 drawn from Point A (ie- Benchley) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Benchley. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 30.7485, Longitude: -96.4586 In this case, the coordinates for Benchley have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <4> | 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. |
| <5> | 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 Benchley to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 319.442 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 315.642 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 314.722 degrees. |