Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Rake, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Rake and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Rake
- 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 Rake:
- 43.480567, -93.920173
- 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 Rake
- 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 Winnebago County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Winnebago County
- Since Rake is near Kossuth County and also Faribault County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Kossuth County
- eBird sighting report for Faribault 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
Curious and Interesting Names Near Rake ...
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.
- Blue Earth
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blue Earth
- Blue Earth is located in Faribault County (MN)
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,098 people
- Former name for Blue Earth:
- Blue Earth City
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Blue Earth <1>
- Dell
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north) - Frost
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Frost have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frost
- Frost is located in Faribault County (MN)
- Population from the 2020 Census: 181 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Frost <1>
- German Valley
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for German Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for German Valley
- German Valley is located in Kossuth County
- Kiester
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kiester have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kiester
- Kiester is located in Faribault County (MN)
- Population from the 2020 Census: 456 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Kiester <1>
- Lakota
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest) - Pilot Grove
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pilot Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pilot Grove
- Pilot Grove is located in Faribault County (MN)
- Scarville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Scarville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scarville
- Scarville is located in Winnebago County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 66 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Scarville <1>
How Far From Rake 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 city such as Rake to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<3> beginning in Rake and extending to:
- Forest City, which is the Seat of Winnebago County, lies 20 miles [32.2 km]<3> to the southeast. If you could walk a straight line from Rake to Forest City, 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 most of a day.
- Des Moines, which is the State Capital of Iowa, lies 131 miles [210.8 km] to the south (S). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than three hours, a buggy would take 6 days and walking would take 8 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 930 miles [1,496.7 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving would take most of two days, a buggy would take 37 days and walking would take 53 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,321 miles [10,172.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,074 miles [11,384.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,978 miles [8,011.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Rake. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for State of Iowa: https://www.iowa.gov/
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 '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- Rake) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Rake. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 43.4806, Longitude: -93.9202 In this case, the coordinates for Rake 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 Rake 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 318.743 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 316.471 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 311.374 degrees. |