RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Kansas >> Ford County >> Windthorst >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

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

  • Weather ...
  • 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 Windthorst:
    • 37.786403, -99.641985
    • 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 Windthorst
  • 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 Ford County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Ford County
    • Since Windthorst is near Edwards County and also Kiowa County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Edwards County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Kiowa 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 Windthorst

Communities Also Named Windthorst ...

We found two communities that are also named Windthorst.

Within Kansas, the name Windthorst is unique.

Beyond Kansas, we know of two communities that are located in the United States and Canada. Of these two communities, one is located in the United States and the other in Canada.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Saskatchewan
      • This Windthorst lies 865 miles [1,392.1 km]<1> to the north of the Windthorst that is located in Ford County.
    • Texas
      • Archer County
      • This Windthorst is located in Archer County and lies 298 miles [479.6 km]<1> to the south southeast of the Windthorst that is located in Ford County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Archer County community of Windthorst.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Windthorst ...

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.

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

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Windthorst and extending to:

  • Dodge City, which is the Seat of Ford County, lies 20 miles [32.2 km]<1> to the west. If you could walk a straight line from Windthorst to Dodge City, 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.
  • Topeka, which is the State Capital of Kansas, lies 231 miles [371.8 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take nearly four hours, a buggy would take 9 days and walking would take 14 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 1,223 miles [1,968.2 km] to the east (E). Driving would take about three full days, a buggy would take 48 days and walking would take 70 days.
  • The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,815 miles [10,967.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,567 miles [12,177.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,466 miles [8,796.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>'

Footnotes ...

<1>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Windthorst) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<3>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.
<4>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 Windthorst to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Windthorst. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 37.7864, Longitude: -99.6420    
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 322.453 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 320.047 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 315.401 degrees.