Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Ratler, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Ratler and the surrounding area.

• Weather ...
  • Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
  • The National Weather Service forecast for Ratler

• 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 Ratler:
  • 31.381277, -98.769213
  • 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 Ratler

• 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 Mills County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
  • Open the eBird sighting report for Mills County
  • Since Ratler is near San Saba County and also Brown County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
  • Open the eBird sighting report for San Saba County
  • Open the eBird sighting report for Brown 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 Ratler

Curious and Interesting Names Near Ratler ...

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.

• Big Valley
  (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Big Valley is located in Mills County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Valley
• Buffalo
  (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Buffalo is located in Mills County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buffalo
• China Creek
  (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
  • China Creek is located in San Saba County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for China Creek
• Double Ford
  (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Double Ford is located in Mills County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Double Ford
• Duke Crossing
  (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
  • Duke Crossing is located in Mills County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duke Crossing
• Locker ‑ Historic
  (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  • Locker is located in San Saba County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Locker
• Regency ‑ Historic
  (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Regency is located in Mills County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Regency
• Ridge
  (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Ridge is located in Mills County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ridge
• Spring Creek
  (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Spring Creek is located in San Saba County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Creek
• Williams Ranch ‑ Historic
  (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Williams Ranch is located in Mills County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Williams Ranch

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

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<1> beginning in Ratler and extending to:

• Goldthwaite, which is the Seat of Mills County, lies 12 miles [19.3 km]<1> to the east northeast. If you could walk a straight line from Ratler to Goldthwaite, with an average speed<2> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take five to six hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take nearly four hours.
• Austin, which is the State Capital of Texas, lies 98 miles [157.7 km] to the southeast (SE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than two hours, a buggy would take three full days and walking would take 6 days.
• The White House (Washington, DC) is 1,328 miles [2,137.2 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take about three full days, a buggy would take 52 days and walking would take 76 days.
• The shortest distance<3> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 7,132 miles [11,477.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<4>
• The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,868 miles [12,662.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
• The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,747 miles [9,248.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>'