Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Speaks, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Speaks and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Speaks
- 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 Speaks:
- 29.262946, -96.700934
- 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 Speaks
- 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 Lavaca County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Lavaca County
- Since Speaks is near Colorado County and also Jackson County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Colorado County
- eBird sighting report for Jackson 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 Speaks ...
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.
- Edna
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Edna have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edna
- Edna is located in Jackson County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 5,755 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Edna <2>
- Good Hope
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest) - Hope
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hope
- Hope is located in Lavaca County
- Louise
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Louise
- Louise is located in Wharton County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Louise <2>
- Matilda
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Matilda
- Matilda is located in Jackson County
- Nada
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nada
- Nada is located in Colorado County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Nada <2>
- Navidad
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south) - Provident City ‑ Historic
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Provident City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Provident City
- Provident City is located in Colorado County
- Rock Island
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rock Island have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock Island
- Rock Island is located in Colorado County
- Sublime
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sublime have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sublime
- Sublime is located in Lavaca County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sublime <2>
How Far From Speaks to ...
We spend a lot of time looking through Gazetteers & Almanacs that were published in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Many of the Gazetteers include the distance from a community such as Speaks to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<3> beginning in Speaks and extending to:
- Hallettsville, which is the Seat of Lavaca County, lies 19 miles [30.6 km]<3> to the northwest. If you could walk a straight line from Speaks to Hallettsville, with an average speed<4> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take just over a day to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 6 hours.
- Austin, which is the State Capital of Texas, lies 93 miles [149.7 km] to the northwest (NW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than two hours, a buggy would take most of three days and walking would take 6 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 1,302 miles [2,095.4 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take about three full days, a buggy would take 51 days and walking would take 74 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 7,166 miles [11,532.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,889 miles [12,696.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,764 miles [9,276.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Speaks. 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> | 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' (or 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- Speaks) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Speaks. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 29.2629, Longitude: -96.7009 |
| <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 Speaks 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 319.374 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 315.372 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 314.956 degrees. |