RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Texas >> Hidalgo County >> R Ruiz Colonia >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in R Ruiz Colonia, we use the following websites to find information relevant to R Ruiz Colonia 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 R Ruiz Colonia:
    • 26.228406, -98.374184
    • 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 R Ruiz Colonia
  • 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 R Ruiz Colonia is near Starr County, we have provided a link to its eBird sighting report:
    • eBird sighting report for Starr 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 R Ruiz Colonia ...

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
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Blue Rock have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blue Rock
    • Blue Rock is located in Hidalgo County
    • Blue Rock has also been known as:
    • Blue Rock Colonia
  • Carol
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Carol have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carol
    • Carol is located in Hidalgo County
    • Carol has also been known as:
    • Carol Colonia
  • Chihuahua
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chihuahua
    • Chihuahua is located in Hidalgo County
    • Chihuahua has also been known as:
    • Chihuahua Colonia
  • Citrus City
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Citrus City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Citrus City
    • Citrus City is located in Hidalgo County
  • Hill-Top
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hill-Top have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hill-Top
    • Hill-Top is located in Hidalgo County
    • Hill-Top has also been known as:
    • Hill-Top Colonia
  • Inspiration Heights
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Inspiration Heights have been provided by the GNIS.<1> 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
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Inspiration Point have been provided by the GNIS.<1> 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
  • Kane
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kane have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kane
    • Kane is located in Hidalgo County
  • Lakeview
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lakeview have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakeview
    • Lakeview is located in Hidalgo County
    • Lakeview has also been known as:
    • Lakeview Colonia
  • Leslie
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Leslie have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leslie
    • Leslie is located in Hidalgo County
    • Leslie has also been known as:
    • Leslie Colonia
  • Mission
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Rush
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rush have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rush
    • Rush is located in Hidalgo County
    • Rush has also been known as:
    • Rush Colonia
  • Storylane
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Storylane have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Storylane
    • Storylane is located in Hidalgo County
    • Storylane has also been known as:
    • Storylane Colonia
  • Sun Valley
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sun Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sun Valley
    • Sun Valley is located in Hidalgo County
    • Sun Valley has also been known as:
    • Sun Valley Colonia

How Far From R Ruiz Colonia 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 R Ruiz Colonia to various places of note, such as the White House.

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<3> beginning in R Ruiz Colonia and extending to:

  • Edinburg, which is the Seat of Hidalgo County, lies 14 miles [22.5 km]<3> to the east northeast. If you could walk a straight line from R Ruiz Colonia to Edinburg, with an average speed<4> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take most of a day 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 281 miles [452.2 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 16 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 1,512 miles [2,433.3 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 7,391 miles [11,894.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 8,110 miles [13,051.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,985 miles [9,631.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>

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 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- R Ruiz Colonia) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in R Ruiz Colonia. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 26.2284, Longitude: -98.3742       In this case, the coordinates for R Ruiz Colonia 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 R Ruiz Colonia 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 319.923 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 315.633 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 315.828 degrees.