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.
- 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:
- 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:
- eBird sighting report for San Saba County
- 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:
- Waymark.com
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)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Big Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Valley
- Big Valley is located in Mills County
- Buffalo
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest) - China Creek
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for China Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for China Creek
- China Creek is located in San Saba County
- Double Ford
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Double Ford have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Double Ford
- Double Ford is located in Mills County
- Duke Crossing
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Duke Crossing have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duke Crossing
- Duke Crossing is located in Mills County
- Locker ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Locker
- Locker is located in San Saba County
- Regency ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest) - Ridge
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ridge
- Ridge is located in Mills County
- Spring Creek
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Spring Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Creek
- Spring Creek is located in San Saba County
- Williams Ranch ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Williams Ranch. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Williams Ranch
- Williams Ranch is located in Mills County
How Far From Ratler 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 Ratler to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<3> beginning in Ratler and extending to:
- Goldthwaite, which is the Seat of Mills County, lies 12 miles [19.3 km]<3> to the east northeast. If you could walk a straight line from Ratler to Goldthwaite, with an average speed<4> 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<5> 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).<6>
- 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).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,747 miles [9,248.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Ratler. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
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> | An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace. |
| <3> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Ratler) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Ratler. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 31.3813, Longitude: -98.7692 In this case, the coordinates for Ratler 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 Ratler 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 321.075 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 317.649 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 315.68 degrees. |