Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Piedra, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Piedra and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Piedra
- 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 Piedra:
- 37.223614, -107.340881
- 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 Piedra
- 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 Archuleta County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Archuleta County
- Since Piedra is near La Plata County and also Rio Arriba County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for La Plata County
- eBird sighting report for Rio Arriba 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 Piedra ...
We found two communities that share the name Piedra.
Within Colorado, the name Piedra is unique.
Beyond Colorado, we know of another two communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Arizona
- California
Curious and Interesting Names Near Piedra ...
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.
- Chimney Rock
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Chimney Rock have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chimney Rock
- Chimney Rock is located in Archuleta County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Chimney Rock <3>
- Columbus
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest) - Gato
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast) - Gem Village
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gem Village
- Gem Village is located in La Plata County
- Lonetree
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east) - Self Place
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Self Place have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Self Place
- Self Place is located in San Juan County (NM)
- Tiffany
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest) - Tuckerville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tuckerville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tuckerville
- Tuckerville is located in La Plata County
- Young Place
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Young Place have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Young Place
- Young Place is located in San Juan County (NM)
How Far From Piedra 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 Piedra to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Piedra and extending to:
- Pagosa Springs, which is the Seat of Archuleta County, lies 16 miles [25.7 km]<1> to the east. If you could walk a straight line from Piedra to Pagosa Springs, with an average speed<4> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take most of a day to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take five to six hours.
- Denver, which is the State Capital of Colorado, lies 215 miles [346 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take nearly four hours, a buggy would take 9 days and walking would take 13 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 1,644 miles [2,645.8 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take most of three days, a buggy would take 65 days and walking would take 94 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 7,088 miles [11,407 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,850 miles [12,633.4 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,780 miles [9,302 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Piedra. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Archuleta County: www.archuletacounty.org/
The official website for State of Colorado: https://www.colorado.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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- Piedra) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Piedra. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 37.2236, Longitude: -107.3409 In this case, the coordinates for Piedra have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <2> | 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. |
| <3> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <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 Piedra 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 328.031 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 326.55 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 319.473 degrees. |