Outdoor Activities ...

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

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

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

• 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 Carretas Crossing:
  • 26.019802, -97.291921
  • 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 Carretas Crossing

• 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 Cameron County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
  • Open the eBird sighting report for Cameron County
  • Since Carretas Crossing is near Willacy County, we have provided a link to its eBird sighting report:
  • Open the eBird sighting report for Willacy 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 Carretas Crossing

Curious and Interesting Names Near Carretas Crossing ...

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.

• Angel Haven
  (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Angel Haven is located in Cameron County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Angel Haven
  • Angel Haven has also been known as:
  • Angel Haven Colonia
• Clarksville ‑ Historic
  (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Clarksville is located in Cameron County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clarksville
• Four Corners
  (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Four Corners is located in Cameron County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Four Corners
• Holly Beach
  (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • Holly Beach is located in Cameron County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holly Beach
• Illinois Heights
  (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Illinois Heights is located in Cameron County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Illinois Heights
  • Illinois Heights has also been known as:
  • Illinois Heights Colonia
• Indian Lake
  (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
  • Indian Lake is located in Cameron County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Lake
  • Population from the 2020 Census: 864 people
• Jaime Lake
  (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Jaime Lake is located in Cameron County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jaime Lake
  • Jaime Lake has also been known as:
  • Jaime Lake Colonia
• Palm Grove
  (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Palm Grove is located in Cameron County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palm Grove

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

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

• Brownsville, which is the Seat of Cameron County, lies 14 miles [22.5 km]<1> to the west southwest. If you could walk a straight line from Carretas Crossing to Brownsville, with an average speed<2> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take most of a day 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 294 miles [473.1 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 12 days and walking would take 17 days.
• The White House (Washington, DC) is 1,471 miles [2,367.3 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take most of three days, a buggy would take 58 days and walking would take 84 days.
• The shortest distance<3> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 7,359 miles [11,843.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<4>
• The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 8,073 miles [12,992.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
• The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,949 miles [9,574 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>'