Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Ding Dong, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Ding Dong and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Ding Dong
- 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 Ding Dong:
- 30.980755, -97.771522
- 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 Ding Dong
- 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 Bell County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Bell County
- Since Ding Dong is near Williamson County and also Burnet County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Williamson County
- eBird sighting report for Burnet 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 Ding Dong ...
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 Valley
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cedar Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Valley
- Cedar Valley is located in Bell County
- Corn Hill
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast) - Dog Ridge ‑ Historic
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east) - Florence
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Florence have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Florence
- Florence is located in Williamson County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,304 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Florence <2>
- Greens Crossing
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Greens Crossing have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greens Crossing
- Greens Crossing is located in Williamson County
- House Crossing
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for House Crossing have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for House Crossing
- House Crossing is located in Coryell County
- Lone Star
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast) - Mason Crossing ‑ Historic
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mason Crossing have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mason Crossing
- Mason Crossing is located in Coryell County
- Middle Crossing
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Middle Crossing have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Middle Crossing
- Middle Crossing is located in Coryell County
- Prairie Dell
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Prairie Dell have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairie Dell
- Prairie Dell is located in Bell County
- Union Grove
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Union Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union Grove
- Union Grove is located in Bell County
How Far From Ding Dong 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 Ding Dong to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<3> beginning in Ding Dong and extending to:
- Belton, which is the Seat of Bell County, lies 19 miles [30.6 km]<3> to the east northeast. If you could walk a straight line from Ding Dong to Belton, 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 49 miles [78.9 km] to the south (S). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than an hour, a buggy would take most of two days and walking would take about three full days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 1,290 miles [2,076.1 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take about three full days, a buggy would take 51 days and walking would take 74 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 7,116 miles [11,452.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,848 miles [12,630.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,725 miles [9,213.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Bell County: www.bellcountytx.com/
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 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Ding Dong) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Ding Dong. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 30.9808, Longitude: -97.7715 |
| <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 Ding Dong 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 320.345 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 316.736 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 315.271 degrees. |