Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in McCook, we use the following websites to find information relevant to McCook and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for McCook
- 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 McCook:
- 26.483821, -98.391061
- 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 McCook
- 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 Hidalgo County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Hidalgo County
- Since McCook is near Starr County and also Brooks County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Starr County
- eBird sighting report for Brooks 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 McCook ...
We found three communities that share the name McCook.
Within Texas, the name McCook is unique.
Beyond Texas, we know of another three communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Illinois
- Nebraska
- South Dakota
Curious and Interesting Names Near McCook ...
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.
- Blue Rock
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south) - Carol
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south) - Chihuahua
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chihuahua
- Chihuahua is located in Hidalgo County
- Chihuahua has also been known as:
- Chihuahua Colonia
- Citrus City
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Citrus City have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Citrus City
- Citrus City is located in Hidalgo County
- Cottonwood
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cottonwood have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cottonwood
- Cottonwood is located in Hidalgo County
- Cottonwood has also been known as:
- Cottonwood Colonia
- Havana
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Havana
- Havana is located in Hidalgo County
- Hill-Top
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south) - Inspiration Heights
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Inspiration Heights have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Inspiration Heights
- Inspiration Heights is located in Hidalgo County
- Inspiration Heights has also been known as:
- Inspiration Heights Colonia
- Inspiration Point
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Inspiration Point have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Inspiration Point
- Inspiration Point is located in Hidalgo County
- Inspiration Point has also been known as:
- Inspiration Point Colonia
- Lakeview
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south) - Lull
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast) - Red Gate
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east) - Continue List (5 more) ...
- River Bend
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for River Bend have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for River Bend
- River Bend is located in Hidalgo County
- River Bend has also been known as:
- River Bend Colonia
- Rush
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast) - Seminary Village
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Seminary Village have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seminary Village
- Seminary Village is located in Hidalgo County
- Seminary Village has also been known as:
- Seminary Village Colonia
- Spring Gardens
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Spring Gardens have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Gardens
- Spring Gardens is located in Hidalgo County
- Spring Gardens has also been known as:
- Spring Gardens Colonia
- Storylane
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- River Bend
How Far From McCook to ...
We spend a lot of time looking through Gazetteers that were published in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Many of the Gazetteers include the distance from a community such as McCook to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in McCook and extending to:
- Edinburg, which is the Seat of Hidalgo County, lies 18 miles [29 km]<1> to the southeast. If you could walk a straight line from McCook to Edinburg, 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 five to six hours.
- Austin, which is the State Capital of Texas, lies 264 miles [424.9 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 11 days and walking would take 15 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 1,501 miles [2,415.6 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take most of three days, a buggy would take 59 days and walking would take 86 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 7,379 miles [11,875.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 8,098 miles [13,032.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,973 miles [9,612.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for McCook. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Hidalgo County: www.co.hidalgo.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 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- McCook) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in McCook. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 26.4838, Longitude: -98.3911 |
| <2> | If we encounter the name of what might be a community, our methodology is to add that name to our Gazetteer as a placeholder. As we find more information about that community, it will be added to our Gazetteer. Just as a reminder: Our definition of a community is rather broad and includes those places (or areas) where several families lived and had a name which identified that place. For example, you might hear somebody say that they are going over to Rock Creek to see Pete ... Rock Creek is just a gas station and a couple of homes at the crossroads. While it might not be on the map, everybody in the area knows it by that name. Places of interest include buildings at a crossroad, several families clustered in a hollow or maybe the location of a way station. It also includes places like mines, lumber camps, ferry crossings, etc. The community might still exist, is now gone or only existed for just a short period of time. Also keep in mind that McCook could have been on the original document by mistake, misspelled, the original/alternate name of a community that we've listed elsewhere or was placed in the wrong county. Sometimes a post office or train station would have a different name than the community where it's located, so two names might be referring to the same community - we're working to straighten it all out. |
| <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 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 McCook 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 319.984 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 315.738 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 315.824 degrees. |