Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Dickens, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Dickens and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Dickens
- 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 Dickens:
- 43.132339, -95.021869
- 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 Dickens
- 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 Clay County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Clay County
- Since Dickens is near Palo Alto County and also Dickinson County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Palo Alto County
- eBird sighting report for Dickinson 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 Dickens ...
We found four communities that share the name Dickens.
Within Iowa, the name Dickens is unique.
Beyond Iowa, we know of another four communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Maryland
- Missouri
- Nebraska
- Texas
Curious and Interesting Names Near Dickens ...
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.
- Emmetsburg
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Emmetsburg have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emmetsburg
- Emmetsburg is located in Palo Alto County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,667 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Emmetsburg <3>
- Fallow
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast) - Greenville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Greenville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenville
- Greenville is located in Clay County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 67 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Greenville <3>
- Mallard
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mallard have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mallard
- Mallard is located in Palo Alto County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 266 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mallard <3>
- Marathon
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marathon
- Marathon is located in Buena Vista County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 228 people
- Orleans
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north) - Rembrandt
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rembrandt
- Rembrandt is located in Buena Vista County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 195 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rembrandt <3>
- Royal
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Royal have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Royal
- Royal is located in Clay County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 400 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Royal <3>
- Spirit Lake
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spirit Lake
- Spirit Lake is located in Dickinson County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 5,251 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Spirit Lake <3>
- Superior
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Superior have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Superior
- Superior is located in Dickinson County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 124 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Superior <3>
How Far From Dickens 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 Dickens to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Dickens and extending to:
- Spencer, which is the Seat of Clay County, lies just to the West.
- Des Moines, which is the State Capital of Iowa, lies 128 miles [206 km]<1> to the southeast (SE). If you could drive a straight line from Dickens to Des Moines, with an average speed<4>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 8 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 5 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 979 miles [1,575.5 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving would take most of two days, a buggy would take 39 days and walking would take 56 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,376 miles [10,261.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,130 miles [11,474.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,035 miles [8,103 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Dickens. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Clay County: www.co.clay.ia.us/
The official website for State of Iowa: https://www.iowa.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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- Dickens) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Dickens. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 43.1323, Longitude: -95.0219 |
| <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 Dickens 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 319.512 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 317.306 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 312.043 degrees. |