Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Shep, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Shep and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Shep
- 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 Shep:
- 32.156523, -100.119262
- 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 Shep
- 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 Taylor County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Taylor County
- Since Shep is near Nolan County and also Runnels County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Nolan County
- eBird sighting report for Runnels 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
Communities Also Named Shep ...
We found two communities that share the name Shep.
Within Texas, the name Shep is unique.
Beyond Texas, we know of another two communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these two communities, one is located in the United States and the other in Canada.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Kansas
- Ontario
- This Shep lies 1,364 miles [2,195.1 km]<2> to the northeast of the Shep that is located in Taylor County.
Curious and Interesting Names Near Shep ...
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.
- Blair
(18 miles [29 km] to the north) - Buffalo Gap
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buffalo Gap
- Buffalo Gap is located in Taylor County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 582 people
- Caps
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast) - Happy Valley
(Less than 2 miles to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Happy Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Happy Valley
- Happy Valley is located in Taylor County
- Lawn
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawn
- Lawn is located in Taylor County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 322 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lawn <4>
- Marie
(18 miles [29 km] to the south) - Maryneal
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Maryneal have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maryneal
- Maryneal is located in Nolan County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Maryneal <4>
- Mount Pleasant
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mount Pleasant have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Pleasant
- Mount Pleasant is located in Taylor County
- View
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
How Far From Shep 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 Shep to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Shep and extending to:
- Abilene, which is the Seat of Taylor County, lies 30 miles [48.3 km]<2> to the northeast. If you could walk a straight line from Shep to Abilene, with an average speed<5> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take most of two days to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take just over a day.
- Austin, which is the State Capital of Texas, lies 191 miles [307.4 km] to the southeast (SE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take a little over three hours, a buggy would take 8 days and walking would take 11 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 1,373 miles [2,209.6 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take about three full days, a buggy would take 54 days and walking would take 78 days.
- The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 7,139 miles [11,489.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,880 miles [12,681.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,764 miles [9,276.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Shep. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Taylor County: www.taylorcountytexas.org/
The official website for State of Texas: https://texas.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | We use the term 'Historic' broadly and it generally means that the community no longer exists. However, it can also mean that the community might still exist, but was significantly larger or had a more 'official' existence in the past than it does now. Unfortunately our sources of data have proven to be unreliable. If you can provide us with more specific information about Shep, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <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- Shep) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Shep. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 32.1565, Longitude: -100.1193 In this case, the coordinates for Shep have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <3> | 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. |
| <4> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <5> | 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. |
| <6> | 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 Shep to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 322.114 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 318.972 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 316.232 degrees. |