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

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Ranchette Estates, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Ranchette Estates 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 Ranchette Estates:
    • 26.276460, -98.202234
    • 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.
    • Open the Heavens-Above website centered on Ranchette Estates
  • 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:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Hidalgo County
    • Since Ranchette Estates is near Cameron County and also Willacy County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Cameron County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Willacy 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:
    • Open the Waymark.com report for Ranchette Estates

Communities Also Named Ranchette Estates ...

We found two communities that are also named Ranchette Estates.

There is one other community in Texas that is also named Ranchette Estates.

Beyond Texas, there is another community also named Ranchette Estates in the United States.

  • Communities Located In Texas ...
    • Willacy County
      • This Ranchette Estates is located in Willacy County and lies 27 miles [43.5 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Ranchette Estates that is located in Hidalgo County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Willacy County community of Ranchette Estates.
  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Alabama
      • Montgomery County
      • This Ranchette Estates is located in Montgomery County and lies 838 miles [1,348.6 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Ranchette Estates that is located in Hidalgo County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Montgomery County community of Ranchette Estates.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Ranchette Estates ...

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
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Blue Rock is located in Hidalgo County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blue Rock
    • Blue Rock has also been known as:
    • Blue Rock Colonia
  • Border
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Border is located in Hidalgo County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Border
    • Border has also been known as:
    • Border Colonia
  • Borderland Retreat
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Borderland Retreat is located in Hidalgo County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Borderland Retreat
    • Borderland Retreat has also been known as:
    • Borderland Retreat Colonia
  • Edinburg
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Isaacs
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Isaacs is located in Hidalgo County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Isaacs
    • Isaacs has also been known as:
    • Isaacs Colonia
  • Kane
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Kane is located in Hidalgo County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kane
  • Lull
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Lull is located in Hidalgo County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lull
  • Merrill
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Merrill is located in Hidalgo County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merrill
    • Merrill has also been known as:
    • Merrill Colonia
  • Paradise Park
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Paradise Park is located in Hidalgo County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paradise Park
    • Paradise Park has also been known as:
    • Paradise Park Colonia
  • Post Oaks
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Post Oaks is located in Hidalgo County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Post Oaks
    • Post Oaks has also been known as:
    • Post Oaks Colonia
  • Red Barn
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Red Barn is located in Hidalgo County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Barn
    • Red Barn has also been known as:
    • Red Barn Colonia
  • River Bend
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • River Bend is located in Hidalgo County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for River Bend
    • River Bend has also been known as:
    • River Bend Colonia
  • Continue List   (4 more) ...
    • Rush
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Rush is located in Hidalgo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rush
      • Rush has also been known as:
      • Rush Colonia
    • Seminary Village
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
      • Seminary Village is located in Hidalgo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seminary Village
      • Seminary Village has also been known as:
      • Seminary Village Colonia
    • Storylane
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
      • Storylane is located in Hidalgo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Storylane
      • Storylane has also been known as:
      • Storylane Colonia
    • Sun Valley
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Sun Valley is located in Hidalgo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sun Valley
      • Sun Valley has also been known as:
      • Sun Valley Colonia

How Far From Ranchette Estates 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 Ranchette Estates to various places of note, such as the White House.

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Ranchette Estates and extending to:

  • Edinburg, which is the Seat of Hidalgo County, lies just to the Northeast.
  • Austin, which is the State Capital of Texas, lies 276 miles [444.2 km]<1> to the north (N). If you could drive a straight line from Ranchette Estates to Austin, with an average speed<3>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take four to five hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 16 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 11 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 1,502 miles [2,417.2 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<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 7,382 miles [11,880.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 8,100 miles [13,035.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,976 miles [9,617.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>'

Footnotes ...

<1>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or 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- Ranchette Estates) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<3>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.
<4>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 Ranchette Estates to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Ranchette Estates. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 26.2765, Longitude: -98.2022       In this case, the coordinates for Ranchette Estates have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 319.82 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 315.517 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 315.757 degrees.