Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Grinnell, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Grinnell and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Grinnell
- 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 Grinnell:
- 41.746062, -92.722453
- 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 Grinnell
- 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 Poweshiek County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Poweshiek County
- Since Grinnell is near Jasper County and also Marshall County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Jasper County
- eBird sighting report for Marshall 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 Grinnell ...
We found three communities that share the name Grinnell.
Within Iowa, the name Grinnell is unique.
Beyond Iowa, we know of another three communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Illinois
- Kansas
- Washington
Curious and Interesting Names Near Grinnell ...
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.
- Haven
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast) - Jacobs
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast) - Kellogg
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kellogg
- Kellogg is located in Jasper County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 585 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Kellogg <3>
- Killduff
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Killduff
- Killduff is located in Jasper County
- Lynnville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lynnville
- Lynnville is located in Jasper County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 393 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lynnville <3>
- Montezuma
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Montezuma have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montezuma
- Montezuma is located in Poweshiek County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,388 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Montezuma <3>
- Murphy
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest) - Potter
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north) - Rushville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
How Far From Grinnell 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 Grinnell to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Grinnell and extending to:
- Montezuma, which is the Seat of Poweshiek County, lies 15 miles [24.1 km]<1> to the southeast. If you could walk a straight line from Grinnell to Montezuma, 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 four to five hours.
- Des Moines, which is the State Capital of Iowa, lies 47 miles [75.6 km] to the west southwest (WSW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than an hour, a buggy would take most of two days and walking would take about three full days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 847 miles [1,363.1 km] to the east (E). Driving would take just about two full days, a buggy would take 33 days and walking would take 49 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,370 miles [10,251.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,118 miles [11,455.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,011 miles [8,064.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Grinnell: www.grinnelliowa.gov/
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 obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Grinnell) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Grinnell. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 41.7461, Longitude: -92.7225 |
| <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 Grinnell 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 317.872 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 315.243 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 311.163 degrees. |