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Tidbits & Trivia
Introduction ...
Below is our collection of tidbits and odds 'n ends for Rek Hill.
Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Rek Hill, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Rek Hill and the surrounding area.
- 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 Rek Hill:
- 29.932447, -96.640252<1>
- 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 Rek Hill
- 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 Fayette County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- Open the eBird sighting report for Fayette County
- Since Rek Hill is near Colorado County and also Austin County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- Open the eBird sighting report for Colorado County
- Open the eBird sighting report for Austin 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 Rek Hill
Curious and Interesting Names Near Rek Hill ...
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.
- Gay Hill
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Gay Hill is also located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gay Hill
- Haw Creek ‑ Historic
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Haw Creek was located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haw Creek
- Industry
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Krebsville
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Krebsville is located in Austin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Krebsville
- Lone Oak
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Lone Oak is located in Colorado County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lone Oak
- Park
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Park is also located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Park
- Post Oak Point
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Post Oak Point is located in Austin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Post Oak Point
- Rockhouse
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Rockhouse is located in Austin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockhouse
- Willow Springs
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Willow Springs is also located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willow Springs
How Far From Rek Hill 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 included the distance from a community such as Rek Hill to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<3> beginning in Rek Hill and extending to:
- La Grange, which is the Seat of Fayette County, lies 13 miles [20.9 km]<3> to the west. If you could walk a straight line from Rek Hill to La Grange, 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 69 miles [111 km] to the west northwest (WNW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than two hours, a buggy would take about three full days and walking would take three full days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 1,272 miles [2,047.1 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take about three full days, a buggy would take 50 days and walking would take 73 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 7,128 miles [11,471.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,853 miles [12,638.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,729 miles [9,219.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Footnotes ...
| <1> | GPS Coordinates for Rek Hill:
Decimal: 29.93244, -96.640252
DDMMSS: 29° 55' 56", -96° 38' 24" |
| <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- Rek Hill) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <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 Rek Hill 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 Rek Hill. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 29.9324, Longitude: -96.6403 In this case, the coordinates for Rek Hill have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 319.439 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 315.535 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 314.874 degrees. |
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