Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Valdez, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Valdez and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Valdez
- 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 Valdez:
- 36.534618, -105.583764
- 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 Valdez
- 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 Taos County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Taos County
- Since Valdez is near Colfax County and also Rio Arriba County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Colfax County
- eBird sighting report for Rio Arriba 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 Valdez ...
We found four communities that share the name Valdez.
Within New Mexico, the name Valdez is unique.
Beyond New Mexico, we know of another four communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Alaska
- This Valdez lies 2,444 miles [3,933.2 km]<1> to the north northwest of the Valdez that is located in Taos County.
- California
- Colorado
- Florida
- Alaska
Curious and Interesting Names Near Valdez ...
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.
- Carson
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carson
- Carson is located in Taos County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Carson <2>
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Carson
- From Valdez to Carson
- Hematite ‑ Historic
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast) - Idlewild
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Idlewild
- Idlewild is located in Colfax County
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Idlewild
- From Valdez to Idlewild
- Kiowa Village
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kiowa Village have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kiowa Village
- Kiowa Village is located in Taos County
- Lakeview Pines
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakeview Pines
- Lakeview Pines is located in Colfax County
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Lakeview Pines
- From Valdez to Lakeview Pines
- Lobo ‑ Historic
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north) - Red River
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red River
- Red River is located in Taos County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 459 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Red River <2>
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Red River
- From Valdez to Red River
- Shady Brook
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shady Brook
- Shady Brook is located in Taos County
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Shady Brook
- From Valdez to Shady Brook
- Twining ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
How Far From Valdez 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 Valdez to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Valdez and extending to:
- Taos, which is the Seat of Taos County, lies just to the South.
- Santa Fe, which is the State Capital of New Mexico, lies 62 miles [99.8 km]<1> to the south southwest (SSW). If you could walk a straight line from Valdez to Santa Fe, with an average speed<4> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take most of three days to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take about three full days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 1,561 miles [2,512.2 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 61 days and walking would take 89 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 7,075 miles [11,386.1 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 7,835 miles [12,609.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,752 miles [9,256.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Valdez. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for State of New Mexico: https://www.nm.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Valdez) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Valdez. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 36.5346, Longitude: -105.5838 |
| <2> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <3> | 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. |
| <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 Valdez 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 326.63 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 324.819 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 318.59 degrees. |