|
Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Thorp Spring, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Thorp Spring 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 Thorp Spring:
- 32.474026, -97.826698
- 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 Thorp Spring
- 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 Hood County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- Open the eBird sighting report for Hood County
- Since Thorp Spring is near Parker County and also Erath County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- Open the eBird sighting report for Parker County
- Open the eBird sighting report for Erath 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 Thorp Spring
Curious and Interesting Names Near Thorp Spring ...
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.
- Bluff Dale
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Brushy
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Brushy is located in Hood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brushy
- Dennis
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Fort Spunky
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Fort Spunky is located in Hood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Spunky
- Harmony
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Harmony is located in Parker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harmony
- Hill City
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Hill City is located in Hood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hill City
- Maxwell Crossing
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Maxwell Crossing is located in Parker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maxwell Crossing
- Pecan Plantation
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Pecan Plantation is located in Hood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pecan Plantation
- Rainbow
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Tin Top
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Tin Top is located in Parker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tin Top
How Far From Thorp Spring 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 Thorp Spring to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<2> beginning in Thorp Spring and extending to:
- Granbury, which is the Seat of Hood County, lies just to the Southeast.
- Austin, which is the State Capital of Texas, lies 152 miles [244.6 km]<2> to the south (S). If you could drive a straight line from Thorp Spring 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 9 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 6 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 1,244 miles [2,002 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take about three full days, a buggy would take 49 days and walking would take 71 days.
- The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 7,039 miles [11,328.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,775 miles [12,512.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,655 miles [9,100.8 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 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Thorp Spring) 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 Thorp Spring 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 Thorp Spring. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 32.4740, Longitude: -97.8267 In this case, the coordinates for Thorp Spring have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <5> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 320.593 degrees. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 317.215 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 315.155 degrees. |
|
|