RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Texas >> Jim Wells County >> K-Bar Ranch >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in K-Bar Ranch, we use the following websites to find information relevant to K-Bar Ranch and the surrounding area.

  • Weather ...
  • 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 K-Bar Ranch:
    • 27.732249, -98.119170
    • 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 K-Bar Ranch
  • 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 K-Bar Ranch ...

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.

  • Alice
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alice
    • Alice is located in Jim Wells County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 18,591 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Alice <1>
  • Bishop
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Casa Blanca
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Casa Blanca
    • Casa Blanca is located in Jim Wells County
  • Coyote Acres
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Coyote Acres have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coyote Acres
    • Coyote Acres is located in Jim Wells County
    • Coyote Acres has also been known as:
    • Coyote Acres Colonia
  • Heritage Acres
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Heritage Acres have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heritage Acres
    • Heritage Acres is located in Jim Wells County
    • Heritage Acres has also been known as:
    • Heritage Acres Colonia
  • Johns Valley
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Johns Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Johns Valley
    • Johns Valley is located in Jim Wells County
    • Johns Valley has also been known as:
    • Johns Valley Colonia
  • Kingsville
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Meadow Ridge
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Meadow Ridge have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadow Ridge
    • Meadow Ridge is located in Jim Wells County
    • Meadow Ridge has also been known as:
    • Meadow Ridge Colonia
  • Orange Grove
    (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Orange Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orange Grove
    • Orange Grove is located in Jim Wells County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,296 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Orange Grove <1>
  • Owl Ranch
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Owl Ranch have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Owl Ranch
    • Owl Ranch is located in Jim Wells County
  • Sandy Bluff
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sandy Bluff have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandy Bluff
    • Sandy Bluff is located in Jim Wells County
    • Sandy Bluff has also been known as:
    • Sandy Bluff Colonia

How Far From K-Bar Ranch 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 K-Bar Ranch to various places of note, such as the White House.

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<3> beginning in K-Bar Ranch and extending to:

  • Alice, which is the Seat of Jim Wells County, lies just to the East Northeast.
  • Austin, which is the State Capital of Texas, lies 176 miles [283.2 km]<3> to the north (N). If you could drive a straight line from K-Bar Ranch to Austin, with an average speed<4>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take about three hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 10 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 7 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 1,434 miles [2,307.8 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take most of three days, a buggy would take 56 days and walking would take 82 days.
  • The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 7,302 miles [11,751.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 8,025 miles [12,915 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,900 miles [9,495.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>

Footnotes ...

<1>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<2>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.
<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- K-Bar Ranch) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in K-Bar Ranch. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 27.7322, Longitude: -98.1192       In this case, the coordinates for K-Bar Ranch 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 K-Bar Ranch 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 320.041 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 315.965 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 315.651 degrees.