Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Mackey, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Mackey and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Mackey
- 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 Mackey:
- 42.166371, -93.756888
- 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 Mackey
- 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 Boone County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Boone County
- Since Mackey is near Hamilton County and also Story County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Hamilton 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 Mackey ...
We found four communities that share the name Mackey.
Within Iowa, the name Mackey is unique.
Beyond Iowa, we know of another four communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these four communities, three are located in the United States and one is in Canada.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Alabama
- Indiana
- New York
- Ontario
- This Mackey lies 835 miles [1,343.8 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Mackey that is located in Boone County.
Curious and Interesting Names Near Mackey ...
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.
- Centerville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Centerville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centerville
- Centerville is located in Boone County
- Coal Valley
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Coal Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coal Valley
- Coal Valley is located in Boone County
- Gilbert
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilbert
- Gilbert is located in Story County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,152 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Gilbert <3>
- Jewell
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jewell
- Jewell is located in Hamilton County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,138 people
- Jewell has also been known as:
- Jewell Junction
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Jewell <3>
- Jordan
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jordan
- Jordan is located in Boone County
- Luther
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south) - Pilot Mound
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pilot Mound
- Pilot Mound is located in Boone County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 170 people
- Randall
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Randall
- Randall is located in Hamilton County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 166 people
- Ridgeport
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west) - Story City
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Story City
- Story City is located in Story County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,330 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Story City <3>
- Wolf
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
How Far From Mackey 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 Mackey to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Mackey and extending to:
- Boone, which is the Seat of Boone County, lies 9 miles [14.5 km]<1> to the southwest. If you could walk a straight line from Mackey to Boone, with an average speed<4> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take four to five hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take a little over three hours.
- Des Moines, which is the State Capital of Iowa, lies 40 miles [64.4 km] to the south (S). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than an hour, a buggy would take just about two full days and walking would take over two days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 904 miles [1,454.8 km] to the east (E). Driving would take most of two days, a buggy would take 36 days and walking would take 52 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,384 miles [10,274.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,134 miles [11,481.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,032 miles [8,098.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Mackey. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Boone County: www.co.boone.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' (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- Mackey) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Mackey. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.1664, Longitude: -93.7569 In this case, the coordinates for Mackey 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 Mackey 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 318.599 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 316.133 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 311.598 degrees. |