Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Otowi, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Otowi and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Otowi
- 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 Otowi:
- 35.875859, -106.142525
- 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 Otowi
- 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 Santa Fe County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Santa Fe County
- Since Otowi is near Sandoval County and also Los Alamos County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Sandoval County
- eBird sighting report for Los Alamos 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 Otowi ...
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.
- Bland ‑ Historic
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest) - Chili
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north) - Clara Peak
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Clara Peak have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clara Peak
- Clara Peak is located in Rio Arriba County
- El Dorado
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast) - Frijoles
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest) - Frijoles Spring
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Frijoles Spring have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frijoles Spring
- Frijoles Spring is located in Rio Arriba County
- Holy Ghost ‑ Historic
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holy Ghost
- Holy Ghost is located in San Miguel County
- Sulphur Springs
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sulphur Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sulphur Springs
- Sulphur Springs is located in Sandoval County
How Far From Otowi 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 Otowi to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers and using the location of where the historic<2> community of Otowi once stood, the straight-line distance<3> beginning in Otowi and extending to:
- Santa Fe, which is the Seat of Santa Fe County, lies 17 miles [27.4 km]<3> to the southeast. If you could walk a straight line from Otowi to Santa Fe, with an average speed<4> 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 five to six hours.
- Santa Fe, which is the State Capital of New Mexico, lies 17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast (SE). The buggy would take five to six hours and walking would take most of a day.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 1,603 miles [2,579.8 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take most of three days, a buggy would take 63 days and walking would take 91 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 7,130 miles [11,474.6 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,890 miles [12,697.7 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,807 miles [9,345.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Santa Fe County: www.co.santa-fe.nm.us/
The official website for State of New Mexico: https://www.nm.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> | 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 Otowi, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <3> | 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- Otowi) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Otowi. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 35.8759, Longitude: -106.1425 In this case, the coordinates for Otowi have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <4> | 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. |
| <5> | 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 Otowi to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 326.964 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 325.145 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 318.931 degrees. |