Outdoor Activities ...

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

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

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

• 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 Iowa:
  • 30.234983, -93.013634
  • 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 Iowa

• 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 parish-by-parish basis. We have selected Calcasieu Parish as the starting point when you click on the link below:
  • Open the eBird sighting report for Calcasieu Parish
  • Since Iowa is near Jefferson Davis Parish and also Allen Parish, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
  • Open the eBird sighting report for Jefferson Davis Parish
  • Open the eBird sighting report for Allen Parish

• 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 Iowa

Communities Also Named Iowa ...

We found one communities that are also named Iowa.

Within Louisiana, the name Iowa is unique.

Beyond Louisiana, there is another community also named Iowa in the United States.

• Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
  • Pennsylvania
    • Jefferson County
    • This Iowa is located in Jefferson County and lies 1,084 miles [1,744.5 km]<1> to the northeast of the Iowa that is located in Calcasieu Parish.
    • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Jefferson County community of Iowa.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Iowa ...

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.

• Bell City
  (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
  • Bell City is located in Calcasieu Parish
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bell City
  • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bell City <2>
• Chalkley
  (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Chalkley is located in Calcasieu Parish
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chalkley
• Chloe
  (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Chloe is located in Calcasieu Parish
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chloe
• Foremans Hall
  (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Foremans Hall is located in Jefferson Davis Parish
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Foremans Hall
• Harbor
  (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Harbor is located in Calcasieu Parish
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harbor
• Hecker
  (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Hecker is located in Calcasieu Parish
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hecker
• Mallard Junction
  (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
  • Mallard Junction is located in Calcasieu Parish
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mallard Junction
• Woodlawn
  (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • Woodlawn is located in Jefferson Davis Parish
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodlawn

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

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

• Lake Charles, which is the Seat of Calcasieu Parish, lies 12 miles [19.3 km]<1> to the west. If you could walk a straight line from Iowa to Lake Charles, with an average speed<3> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take five to six hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take nearly four hours.
• Baton Rouge, which is the State Capital of Louisiana, lies 111 miles [178.6 km] to the east (E). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take about two hours, a buggy would take 5 days and walking would take 7 days.
• The White House (Washington, DC) is 1,085 miles [1,746.1 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take over two days, a buggy would take 43 days and walking would take 62 days.
• The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,968 miles [11,213.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
• The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,683 miles [12,364.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
• The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,559 miles [8,946.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>'