Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Mount Gainor, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Mount Gainor and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Mount Gainor
- 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 Mount Gainor:
- 30.143819, -98.135012
- 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 Mount Gainor
- 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 Hays County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Hays County
- Since Mount Gainor is near Blanco County and also Travis County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Blanco County
- eBird sighting report for Travis 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 Mount Gainor ...
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.
- Bee Cave
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bee Cave have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bee Cave
- Bee Cave is located in Travis County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 6,983 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bee Cave <2>
- Cedar Valley
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)- 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 Travis County
- Driftwood
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Driftwood
- Driftwood is located in Hays County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Driftwood <2>
- Dripping Springs
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dripping Springs
- Dripping Springs is located in Hays County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 6,587 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Dripping Springs <2>
- Flatrock Ford
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Flatrock Ford have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flatrock Ford
- Flatrock Ford is located in Hays County
- Hays
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east) - Hays City
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast) - Mountain City
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mountain City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountain City
- Mountain City is located in Hays County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 858 people
- Pioneer Town
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pioneer Town
- Pioneer Town is located in Hays County
- Shady Hollow
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shady Hollow have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shady Hollow
- Shady Hollow is located in Travis County
How Far From Mount Gainor 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 Mount Gainor to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<3> beginning in Mount Gainor and extending to:
- San Marcos, which is the Seat of Hays County, lies 21 miles [33.8 km]<3> to the south southeast. If you could walk a straight line from Mount Gainor to San Marcos, 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 most of a day.
- Austin, which is the State Capital of Texas, lies 24 miles [38.6 km] to the east northeast (ENE). The buggy would take most of a day and walking would take just about two full days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 1,339 miles [2,154.9 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take about three full days, a buggy would take 53 days and walking would take 76 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 7,174 miles [11,545.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,905 miles [12,721.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,782 miles [9,305.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Hays County: www.co.hays.tx.us/
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 from Point A (ie- Mount Gainor) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Mount Gainor. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 30.1438, Longitude: -98.1350 In this case, the coordinates for Mount Gainor 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 Mount Gainor 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 320.46 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 316.766 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 315.499 degrees. |