Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Hesper, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Hesper and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Hesper
- 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 Hesper:
- 43.486346, -91.769552
- 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 Hesper
- 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 Winneshiek County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Winneshiek County
- Since Hesper is near Fillmore County and also Houston County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Fillmore County
- eBird sighting report for Houston 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 Hesper ...
We found three communities that share the name Hesper.
Within Iowa, the name Hesper is unique.
Beyond Iowa, we know of another three communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Kansas
- Montana
- North Dakota
Curious and Interesting Names Near Hesper ...
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.
- Highlandville
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highlandville
- Highlandville is located in Winneshiek County
- Locust
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast) - Mabel
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mabel
- Mabel is located in Fillmore County (MN)
- Population from the 2020 Census: 744 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mabel <3>
- Newhouse
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast) - Prosper
(5 miles [8 km] to the west) - Riceford
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riceford
- Riceford is located in Houston County (MN)
- Spring Grove
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Spring Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Grove
- Spring Grove is located in Houston County (MN)
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,262 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Spring Grove <3>
- Springwater
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Springwater have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springwater
- Springwater is located in Winneshiek County
- Tawney
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
How Far From Hesper 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 Hesper to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Hesper and extending to:
- Decorah, which is the Seat of Winneshiek County, lies 12 miles [19.3 km]<1> to the south. If you could walk a straight line from Hesper to Decorah, 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 160 miles [257.5 km] to the southwest (SW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than three hours, a buggy would take 7 days and walking would take 9 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 827 miles [1,330.9 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving would take just about two full days, a buggy would take 33 days and walking would take 47 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,249 miles [10,056.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,999 miles [11,263.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,896 miles [7,879.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Hesper. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
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 from Point A (ie- Hesper) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Hesper. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 43.4863, Longitude: -91.7696 |
| <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 Hesper 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 317.242 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 314.757 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 310.233 degrees. |