Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Farrar, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Farrar and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Farrar
- 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 Farrar:
- 41.805821, -93.369931
- 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 Farrar
- 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 Polk County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Polk County
- Since Farrar is near Jasper County and also Story County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Jasper County
- eBird sighting report for Story 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 Farrar ...
We found four communities that share the name Farrar.
Within Iowa, the name Farrar is unique.
Beyond Iowa, we know of another four communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Georgia
- Missouri
- North Carolina
- Texas
Curious and Interesting Names Near Farrar ...
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.
- Clyde
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast) - Elkhart
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkhart
- Elkhart is located in Polk County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 952 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Elkhart <3>
- Enterprise
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Enterprise have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Enterprise
- Enterprise is located in Polk County
- Green Castle
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Castle
- Green Castle is located in Jasper County
- Iowa Center
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iowa Center
- Iowa Center is located in Story County
- Ira
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ira
- Ira is located in Jasper County
- Maxwell
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maxwell
- Maxwell is located in Story County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 908 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Maxwell <3>
- Mingo
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mingo
- Mingo is located in Jasper County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 309 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mingo <3>
How Far From Farrar to ...
We spend a lot of time looking through Gazetteers, Almanacs & Directories that were published in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Many of the Gazetteers include the distance from a community such as Farrar to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Farrar and extending to:
- Des Moines, which is the Seat of Polk County, lies 19 miles [30.6 km]<1> to the southwest. If you could walk a straight line from Farrar to Des Moines, with an average speed<4> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take just over a day to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 6 hours.
- Des Moines, which is the State Capital of Iowa, lies 19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest (SW). The buggy would take 6 hours and walking would take just over a day.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 881 miles [1,417.8 km] to the east (E). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take most of two days, a buggy would take 35 days and walking would take 50 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,389 miles [10,282.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,138 miles [11,487.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,034 miles [8,101.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Farrar. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Polk County: www.co.polk.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 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Farrar) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Farrar. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 41.8058, Longitude: -93.3699 In this case, the coordinates for Farrar 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 Farrar 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 318.32 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 315.765 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 311.481 degrees. |