Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Prairie Dell, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Prairie Dell and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Prairie Dell
- 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 Prairie Dell:
- 30.884074, -97.580287
- 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 Prairie Dell
- 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 Prairie Dell is near Williamson County and also Milam County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Williamson County
- eBird sighting report for Milam 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 Prairie Dell ...
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
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)- 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
(5 miles [8 km] to the south) - Ding Dong
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ding Dong
- Ding Dong is located in Bell County
- Dog Ridge ‑ Historic
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north) - Florence
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)- 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>
- Hobbs
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast) - Holland
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holland
- Holland is located in Bell County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,189 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Holland <2>
- Little River
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little River
- Little River is located in Bell County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Little River <2>
- New Corn Hill
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for New Corn Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Corn Hill
- New Corn Hill is located in Williamson County
- Sparks
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sparks
- Sparks is located in Bell County
- Sun City
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest) - Union Grove
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)- 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 Prairie Dell 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 Prairie Dell to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<3> beginning in Prairie Dell and extending to:
- Belton, which is the Seat of Bell County, lies 13 miles [20.9 km]<3> to the north northeast. If you could walk a straight line from Prairie Dell to Belton, with an average speed<4> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take 6 hours 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 43 miles [69.2 km] to the south southwest (SSW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than an hour, a buggy would take just about two full days and walking would take about three full days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 1,284 miles [2,066.4 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take about three full days, a buggy would take 51 days and walking would take 73 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 7,114 miles [11,448.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,845 miles [12,625.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,722 miles [9,208.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Prairie Dell. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
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- Prairie Dell) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Prairie Dell. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 30.8841, Longitude: -97.5803 In this case, the coordinates for Prairie Dell 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 Prairie Dell 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 320.203 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 316.556 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 315.196 degrees. |