RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Iowa >> Linn County >> Hometown-Cedar Terrace >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).

When in Hometown-Cedar Terrace, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Hometown-Cedar Terrace and the surrounding area.

  • Weather ...
    • Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
    • The National Weather Service forecast for Hometown-Cedar Terrace
  • 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 Hometown-Cedar Terrace:
    • 41.959723, -91.749348
    • 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 Hometown-Cedar Terrace
  • 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 Hometown-Cedar Terrace ...

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.

  • Cedar Rapids
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Grand View Village
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Grand View Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grand View Village
    • Grand View Village is located in Linn County
  • Hiawatha
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hiawatha have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hiawatha
    • Hiawatha is located in Linn County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 7,466 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hiawatha <1>
  • Lincolnway Village
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lincolnway Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lincolnway Village
    • Lincolnway Village is located in Linn County
  • Marion
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Robins
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Robins have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Robins
    • Robins is located in Linn County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,570 people
  • Swisher
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Swisher have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swisher
    • Swisher is located in Johnson County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 959 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Swisher <1>
  • Toddville
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Toddville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Toddville
    • Toddville is located in Linn County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Toddville <1>

How Far From Hometown-Cedar Terrace 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 Hometown-Cedar Terrace to various places of note, such as the White House.

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<3> beginning in Hometown-Cedar Terrace and extending to:

  • Cedar Rapids, which is the Seat of Linn County, lies just to the East Northeast.
  • Des Moines, which is the State Capital of Iowa, lies 99 miles [159.3 km]<3> to the west southwest (WSW). If you could drive a straight line from Hometown-Cedar Terrace to Des Moines, with an average speed<4>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take less than two hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 6 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take three full days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 800 miles [1,287.5 km] to the east (E). Driving would take just about two full days, a buggy would take 32 days and walking would take 46 days.
  • The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,326 miles [10,180.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,072 miles [11,381.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,964 miles [7,988.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>

Footnotes ...

<1>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<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>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 drawn from Point A (ie- Hometown-Cedar Terrace) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Hometown-Cedar Terrace. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 41.9597, Longitude: -91.7493       In this case, the coordinates for Hometown-Cedar Terrace 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 Hometown-Cedar Terrace 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 317.209 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 314.512 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 310.614 degrees.