Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Wilke, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Wilke and the surrounding area.

• Weather ...
  • Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
  • The National Weather Service forecast for Wilke

• 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 Wilke:
  • 42.496646, -93.469374
  • 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.
  • Open the Heavens-Above website centered on Wilke

• 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 Hardin County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
  • Open the eBird sighting report for Hardin County
  • Since Wilke is near Hamilton County and also Franklin County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
  • Open the eBird sighting report for Hamilton County
  • Open the eBird sighting report for Franklin 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:
  • Open the Waymark.com report for Wilke

Curious and Interesting Names Near Wilke ...

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.

• Berlin
  (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
  • Berlin is located in Hardin County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berlin
• Buckeye
  (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Buckeye is located in Hardin County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buckeye
  • Population from the 2020 Census: 107 people
• Eagle City
  (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
  • Eagle City is located in Hardin County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eagle City
• Garden City
  (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
  • Garden City is located in Hardin County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garden City
• Hughs
  (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Hughs is located in Hardin County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hughs
• Iowa Falls
  (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
  • Iowa Falls is located in Hardin County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iowa Falls
  • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,940 people
  • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Iowa Falls <1>
• Iowa Falls Junction
  (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
  • Iowa Falls Junction is located in Hardin County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iowa Falls Junction
• Jewell
  (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Jewell is located in Hamilton County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jewell
  • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,138 people
  • Jewell has also been known as:
  • Jewell Junction
  • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Jewell <1>
• Macey
  (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
  • Macey is located in Hardin County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Macey
• Popejoy
  (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • Popejoy is located in Franklin County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Popejoy
  • Population from the 2020 Census: 74 people

How Far From Wilke 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 Wilke to various places of note, such as the White House.

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<2> beginning in Wilke and extending to:

• Eldora, which is the Seat of Hardin County, lies 21 miles [33.8 km]<2> to the east southeast. If you could walk a straight line from Wilke to Eldora, with an average speed<3> 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 62 miles [99.8 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 about three full days and walking would take most of three days.
• The White House (Washington, DC) is 893 miles [1,437.1 km] to the east (E). Driving would take most of two days, a buggy would take 35 days and walking would take 51 days.
• The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,357 miles [10,230.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
• The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,108 miles [11,439.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
• The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,006 miles [8,056.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>'