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Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Shell Ridge, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Shell Ridge 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 Shell Ridge:
- 27.997241, -97.060267
- 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 Shell Ridge
- 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 Aransas County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- Open the eBird sighting report for Aransas County
- Since Shell Ridge is near San Patricio County and also Refugio County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- Open the eBird sighting report for San Patricio County
- Open the eBird sighting report for Refugio 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 Shell Ridge
Curious and Interesting Names Near Shell Ridge ...
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.
- City-by-the Sea
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- City-by-the Sea is located in Aransas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for City-by-the Sea
- Gregory
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Harbor City ‑ Historic
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Harbor City is located in San Patricio County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harbor City
- Holiday Beach
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Holiday Beach is located in Aransas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holiday Beach
- Mustang Beach
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Mustang Beach is located in Nueces County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mustang Beach
- Palm Harbor
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Palm Harbor is located in Aransas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palm Harbor
- Rockport
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Tradewinds
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Tradewinds is located in San Patricio County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tradewinds
How Far From Shell Ridge 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 Shell Ridge to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<2> beginning in Shell Ridge and extending to:
- Rockport, which is the Seat of Aransas County, lies just to the North.
- Austin, which is the State Capital of Texas, lies 162 miles [260.7 km]<2> to the north northwest (NNW). If you could drive a straight line from Shell Ridge to Austin, with an average speed<3>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take less than three hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 10 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 7 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 1,372 miles [2,208 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take about three full days, a buggy would take 54 days and walking would take 78 days.
- The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 7,246 miles [11,661.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,966 miles [12,820 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,842 miles [9,401.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>'
Footnotes ...
| <1> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <2> | 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 drawn from Point A (ie- Shell Ridge) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <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 Shell Ridge 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 Shell Ridge. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 27.9972, Longitude: -97.0603 In this case, the coordinates for Shell Ridge have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <5> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 319.397 degrees. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 315.237 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 315.198 degrees. |
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