Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Slifer, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Slifer and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Slifer
- 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 Slifer:
- 42.340097, -94.378687
- 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 Slifer
- 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 Webster County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Webster County
- Since Slifer is near Calhoun County and also Greene County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Calhoun County
- eBird sighting report for Greene 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 Slifer ...
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.
- Clare
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north) - Coalville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coalville
- Coalville is located in Webster County
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Coalville
- From Slifer to Coalville
- Dana
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Dana. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dana
- Dana is located in Greene County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 67 people
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Dana
- From Slifer to Dana
- Lena
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast) - Moorland
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Moorland have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moorland
- Moorland is located in Webster County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 158 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Moorland <3>
- Palm Grove
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palm Grove
- Palm Grove is located in Webster County
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Palm Grove
- From Slifer to Palm Grove
- Piper
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west) - Richard
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest) - Shady Oak
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast) - Twin Lakes
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twin Lakes
- Twin Lakes is located in Calhoun County
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Twin Lakes
- From Slifer to Twin Lakes
How Far From Slifer 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 community such as Slifer to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<4> beginning in Slifer and extending to:
- Fort Dodge, which is the Seat of Webster County, lies 15 miles [24.1 km]<4> to the northeast. If you could walk a straight line from Slifer to Fort Dodge, with an average speed<5> 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 64 miles [103 km] to the southeast (SE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than an hour, a buggy would take about three full days and walking would take most of three days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 937 miles [1,508 km] to the east (E). Driving would take most of two days, a buggy would take 37 days and walking would take 54 days.
- The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,396 miles [10,293.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,147 miles [11,502 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,048 miles [8,124 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Slifer. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Webster County: www.webstercountyia.org/
The official website for State of Iowa: https://www.iowa.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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. |
| <2> | An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace. |
| <3> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <4> | 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 from Point A (ie- Slifer) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Slifer. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.3401, Longitude: -94.3787 |
| <5> | 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. |
| <6> | 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 Slifer to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 319.037 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 316.659 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 311.883 degrees. |