Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Thrifty, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Thrifty and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Thrifty
- 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 Thrifty:
- 31.810982, -99.132000
- 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 Thrifty
- 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 Brown County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Brown County
- Since Thrifty is near Coleman County and also Eastland County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Coleman County
- eBird sighting report for Eastland 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 Thrifty ...
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.
- Bangs
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bangs have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bangs
- Bangs is located in Brown County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,504 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bangs <2>
- Buffalo
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west) - Early
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Early
- Early is located in Brown County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,296 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Early <2>
- Fry ‑ Historic
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west) - Holder
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast) - Lake Shore
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lake Shore have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Shore
- Lake Shore is located in Brown County
- Liberty
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest) - Shamrock Shores
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shamrock Shores have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shamrock Shores
- Shamrock Shores is located in Brown County
How Far From Thrifty 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 Thrifty to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<3> beginning in Thrifty and extending to:
- Brownwood, which is the Seat of Brown County, lies 11 miles [17.7 km]<3> to the southeast. If you could walk a straight line from Thrifty to Brownwood, with an average speed<4> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take five to six hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take nearly four hours.
- Austin, which is the State Capital of Texas, lies 134 miles [215.7 km] to the southeast (SE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than three hours, a buggy would take 6 days and walking would take 8 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 1,332 miles [2,143.6 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take about three full days, a buggy would take 52 days and walking would take 76 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 7,122 miles [11,461.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,860 miles [12,649.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,741 miles [9,239.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Thrifty. 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 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Thrifty) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Thrifty. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 31.8110, Longitude: -99.1320 In this case, the coordinates for Thrifty have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <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 Thrifty 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 321.385 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 318.068 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 315.807 degrees. |