Outdoor Activities ...

As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).

When in Whalen Acres, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Whalen Acres and the surrounding area.

• Weather ...
  • Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
  • The National Weather Service forecast for Whalen Acres

• 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 Whalen Acres:
  • 26.197296, -98.208345
  • 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 Whalen Acres

• 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 Hidalgo County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
  • Open the eBird sighting report for Hidalgo County
  • Since Whalen Acres is near Cameron County and also Starr County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
  • Open the eBird sighting report for Cameron County
  • Open the eBird sighting report for Starr 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 Whalen Acres

Curious and Interesting Names Near Whalen Acres ...

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.

• Blue Rock
  (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Blue Rock is located in Hidalgo County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blue Rock
  • Blue Rock has also been known as:
  • Blue Rock Colonia
• Border
  (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Border is located in Hidalgo County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Border
  • Border has also been known as:
  • Border Colonia
• Borderland Retreat
  (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Borderland Retreat is located in Hidalgo County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Borderland Retreat
  • Borderland Retreat has also been known as:
  • Borderland Retreat Colonia
• Kane
  (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • Kane is located in Hidalgo County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kane
• Leslie
  (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Leslie is located in Hidalgo County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leslie
  • Leslie has also been known as:
  • Leslie Colonia
• Paradise Park
  (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Paradise Park is located in Hidalgo County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paradise Park
  • Paradise Park has also been known as:
  • Paradise Park Colonia
• Post Oaks
  (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Post Oaks is located in Hidalgo County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Post Oaks
  • Post Oaks has also been known as:
  • Post Oaks Colonia
• Red Barn
  (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Red Barn is located in Hidalgo County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Barn
  • Red Barn has also been known as:
  • Red Barn Colonia
• Rush
  (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Rush is located in Hidalgo County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rush
  • Rush has also been known as:
  • Rush Colonia
• Storylane
  (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Storylane is located in Hidalgo County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Storylane
  • Storylane has also been known as:
  • Storylane Colonia
• Sun Valley
  (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Sun Valley is located in Hidalgo County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sun Valley
  • Sun Valley has also been known as:
  • Sun Valley Colonia

How Far From Whalen Acres 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 Whalen Acres to various places of note, such as the White House.

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<1> beginning in Whalen Acres and extending to:

• Edinburg, which is the Seat of Hidalgo County, lies just to the North Northeast.
• Austin, which is the State Capital of Texas, lies 282 miles [453.8 km]<1> to the north (N). If you could drive a straight line from Whalen Acres to Austin, with an average speed<2>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take four to five hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 16 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 11 days.
• The White House (Washington, DC) is 1,506 miles [2,423.7 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take most of three days, a buggy would take 59 days and walking would take 86 days.
• The shortest distance<3> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 7,386 miles [11,886.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<4>
• The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 8,104 miles [13,042.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
• The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,980 miles [9,623.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>'