Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Aplington, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Aplington and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Aplington
- 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 Aplington:
- 42.581890, -92.879918
- 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 Aplington
- 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 Butler County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Butler County
- Since Aplington is near Grundy County and also Hardin County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Grundy County
- eBird sighting report for Hardin 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 Aplington ...
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.
- Dairyville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dairyville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dairyville
- Dairyville is located in Grundy County
- Dike
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dike
- Dike is located in Grundy County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,267 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Dike <2>
- Eagle City
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Eagle City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eagle City
- Eagle City is located in Hardin County
- Eleanor
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast) - Fern
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fern
- Fern is located in Grundy County
- Geneva
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Geneva have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Geneva
- Geneva is located in Franklin County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 154 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Geneva <2>
- Holland
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Holland have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holland
- Holland is located in Grundy County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 276 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Holland <2>
- Lincoln
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast) - Macey
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west) - Pilot Rock
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pilot Rock have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pilot Rock
- Pilot Rock is located in Butler County
- Steamboat Rock
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Steamboat Rock
- Steamboat Rock is located in Hardin County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 298 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Steamboat Rock <2>
- Stout
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stout
- Stout is located in Grundy County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 214 people
How Far From Aplington 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 city such as Aplington to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<3> beginning in Aplington and extending to:
- Allison, which is the Seat of Butler County, lies 12 miles [19.3 km]<3> to the north northeast. If you could walk a straight line from Aplington to Allison, 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.
- Des Moines, which is the State Capital of Iowa, lies 77 miles [123.9 km] to the south southwest (SSW). 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 5 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 865 miles [1,392.1 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving would take most of two days, a buggy would take 34 days and walking would take 50 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,333 miles [10,192 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,082 miles [11,397.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,980 miles [8,014.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Aplington: www.aplingtonia.com/
The official website for Butler County: www.butlercoiowa.org/
The official website for State of Iowa: https://www.iowa.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 obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Aplington) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Aplington. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.5819, Longitude: -92.8799 In this case, the coordinates for Aplington 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 Aplington 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 318.00 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 315.501 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 311.044 degrees. |