Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Spencer, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Spencer and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Spencer
- 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 Spencer:
- 43.144424, -95.144904
- 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 Spencer
- 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 Clay County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Clay County
- Since Spencer is near Dickinson County and also O'Brien County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Dickinson County
- eBird sighting report for O'Brien 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 Spencer ...
We found 35 communities that share the name Spencer.
Within Iowa, the name Spencer is unique.
Beyond Iowa, we know of another 35 communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Alabama
- Bibb County
- This Spencer is located in Bibb County and lies 824 miles [1,326.1 km]<1> to the south southeast of the Spencer that is located in Clay County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Bibb County community of Spencer.
- Fayette County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<2> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Alabama community of Spencer [Fayette County].
- Arkansas
- Colorado
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Pike County
- This Spencer is located in Pike County and lies 310 miles [498.9 km]<1> to the southeast of the Spencer that is located in Clay County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Pike County community of Spencer.
- Will County
- This Spencer is located in Will County and lies 384 miles [618 km] to the east southeast of the Spencer that is located in Clay County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Will County community of Spencer.
- Indiana
- Kansas
- Atchison County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<2> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Kansas community of Spencer [Atchison County].
- Ness County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Kansas community of Spencer [Ness County].
- Shawnee County
- This Spencer is located in Shawnee County and lies 282 miles [453.8 km]<1> to the south of the Spencer that is located in Clay County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Shawnee County community of Spencer.
- Kentucky
- Bell County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<2> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Kentucky community of Spencer [Bell County].
- Montgomery County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Kentucky community of Spencer [Montgomery County].
- Louisiana
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
- Mississippi
- Copiah County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<2> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Mississippi community of Spencer [Copiah County].
- Washington County
- This Spencer is located in Washington County and lies 734 miles [1,181.3 km]<1> to the south southeast of the Spencer that is located in Clay County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Washington County community of Spencer.
- Missouri
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- New York
- North Carolina
- Moore County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<2> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the North Carolina community of Spencer [Moore County].
- Rowan County
- This Spencer is located in Rowan County and lies 936 miles [1,506.3 km]<1> to the east southeast of the Spencer that is located in Clay County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Rowan County community of Spencer.
- Ohio
- Lorain County
- This community is historic<3> and although located in Lorain County, we don't know where within the county.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Lorain County community of Spencer.
- Lucas County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<2> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Ohio community of Spencer [Lucas County].
- Medina County
- This Spencer is located in Medina County and lies 681 miles [1,096 km]<1> to the east of the Spencer that is located in Clay County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Medina County community of Spencer.
- Muskingum County
- This Spencer is located in Muskingum County and lies 716 miles [1,152.3 km] to the east southeast of the Spencer that is located in Clay County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Muskingum County community of Spencer.
- Oklahoma
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Virginia
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
- Wyoming
- Alabama
Curious and Interesting Names Near Spencer ...
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.
- Dickens
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dickens
- Dickens is located in Clay County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 168 people
- Fallow
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east) - Greenville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Greenville have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenville
- Greenville is located in Clay County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 67 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Greenville <5>
- Marathon
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marathon
- Marathon is located in Buena Vista County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 228 people
- May City
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for May City
- May City is located in Osceola County
- Orleans
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north) - Rembrandt
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rembrandt
- Rembrandt is located in Buena Vista County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 195 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rembrandt <5>
- Royal
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Royal have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Royal
- Royal is located in Clay County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 400 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Royal <5>
- Spirit Lake
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spirit Lake
- Spirit Lake is located in Dickinson County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 5,251 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Spirit Lake <5>
- Superior
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Superior have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Superior
- Superior is located in Dickinson County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 124 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Superior <5>
How Far From Spencer 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 city such as Spencer to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Spencer and extending to:
- Des Moines, which is the State Capital of Iowa, lies 132 miles [212.4 km]<1> to the southeast (SE). If you could drive a straight line from Spencer to Des Moines, with an average speed<6>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take less than three hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 8 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 6 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 985 miles [1,585.2 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving would take most of two days, a buggy would take 39 days and walking would take 56 days.
- The shortest distance<7> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,379 miles [10,266 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,133 miles [11,479.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,040 miles [8,111.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<10>
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Spencer: www.spenceria.org/
The official website for Clay County: www.co.clay.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' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Spencer) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Spencer. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 43.1444, Longitude: -95.1449 |
| <2> | If we encounter the name of what might be a community, our methodology is to add that name to our Gazetteer as a placeholder. As we find more information about that community, it will be added to our Gazetteer. Just as a reminder: Our definition of a community is rather broad and includes those places (or areas) where several families lived and had a name which identified that place. For example, you might hear somebody say that they are going over to Mile's to see Pete ... Mile's is just a gas station and a couple of homes at the crossroads. While it might not be on the map, everybody in the area knows it by that name. Places of interest include buildings at a crossroad, several families clustered in a hollow or maybe the location of a way station. It also includes places like mines, lumber camps, ferry crossings, etc. The community might still exist, is now gone or only existed for just a short period of time. Also keep in mind that Spencer could have been on the original document by mistake, misspelled, the original/alternate name of a community that we've listed elsewhere or was placed in the wrong county. Sometimes a post office or train station would have a different name than the community where it's located, so two names might be referring to the same community - we're working to straighten it all out. |
| <3> | We use the term 'Historic' broadly and it generally means that the community no longer exists. However, it can also mean that the community might still exist, but was significantly larger or had a more 'official' existence in the past than it does now. Unfortunately our sources of data have proven to be unreliable. If you can provide us with more specific information about Spencer, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | 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. |
| <5> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <6> | 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. |
| <7> | 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 Spencer to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 319.599 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 317.408 degrees. |
| <10> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 312.106 degrees. |