Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Bracken, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Bracken and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Bracken
- 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 Bracken:
- 29.610938, -98.321392
- 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 Bracken
- 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 Comal County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Comal County
- Since Bracken is near Bexar County and also Guadalupe County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Bexar County
- eBird sighting report for Guadalupe 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
Communities Also Named Bracken ...
We found four communities that share the name Bracken.
Within Texas, the name Bracken is unique.
Beyond Texas, we know of another four communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these four communities, three are located in the United States and one is in Canada.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Indiana
- Missouri
- Nevada
- Saskatchewan
- This Bracken lies 1,445 miles [2,325.5 km]<1> to the north northwest of the Bracken that is located in Comal County.
Curious and Interesting Names Near Bracken ...
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.
- Airport City
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Airport City have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Airport City
- Airport City is located in Bexar County
- Converse
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Converse have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Converse
- Converse is located in Bexar County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 28,814 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Converse <4>
- Friendly Corner
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Friendly Corner have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Friendly Corner
- Friendly Corner is located in Bexar County
- Garden Ridge
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garden Ridge
- Garden Ridge is located in Comal County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,266 people
- Kirby
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kirby have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kirby
- Kirby is located in Bexar County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 8,719 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Kirby <4>
- Live Oak
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Live Oak have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Live Oak
- Live Oak is located in Bexar County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 16,661 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Live Oak <4>
- Longhorn
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest) - Marion
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Marion have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marion
- Marion is located in Guadalupe County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,281 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Marion <4>
- Shorts Corner
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shorts Corner have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shorts Corner
- Shorts Corner is located in Bexar County
- Universal City
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Universal City have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Universal City
- Universal City is located in Bexar County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 21,007 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Universal City <4>
How Far From Bracken 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 Bracken to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Bracken and extending to:
- New Braunfels, which is the Seat of Comal County, lies 13 miles [20.9 km]<1> to the east northeast. If you could walk a straight line from Bracken to New Braunfels, with an average speed<5> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take 6 hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take four to five hours.
- Austin, which is the State Capital of Texas, lies 57 miles [91.7 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than an hour, a buggy would take over two days and walking would take most of three days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 1,368 miles [2,201.6 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take about three full days, a buggy would take 54 days and walking would take 78 days.
- The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 7,210 miles [11,603.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,939 miles [12,776.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,816 miles [9,359.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Bracken. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Comal County: www.co.comal.tx.us/
The official website for State of Texas: https://texas.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Bracken) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Bracken. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 29.6109, Longitude: -98.3214 |
| <2> | We use the term 'Historic' broadly and it generally means that the community no longer exists. However, it can also mean that the community might still exist, but was significantly larger or had a more 'official' existence in the past than it does now. Unfortunately our sources of data have proven to be unreliable. If you can provide us with more specific information about Bracken, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <3> | 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. |
| <4> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <5> | 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. |
| <6> | 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 Bracken to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 320.498 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 316.745 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 315.618 degrees. |