Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Wilna, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Wilna and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Wilna
- 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 Wilna:
- 32.207032, -108.234765
- 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 Wilna
- 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 Grant County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Grant County
- Since Wilna is near Luna County and also Hidalgo County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Luna County
- eBird sighting report for Hidalgo 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 Wilna ...
We found four communities that share the name Wilna.
Within New Mexico, the name Wilna is unique.
Beyond New Mexico, we know of another four communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Maryland
- New York
- Ohio
- Pennsylvania
Curious and Interesting Names Near Wilna ...
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.
- Cedar Grove ‑ Historic
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cedar Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Grove
- Cedar Grove is located in Luna County
- Gage
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east) - Gold Hill ‑ Historic
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest) - Guess Place
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Guess Place have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Guess Place
- Guess Place is located in Grant County
- Lisbon
(18 miles [29 km] to the west) - Mitchell Place
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mitchell Place have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mitchell Place
- Mitchell Place is located in Hidalgo County
- Pothook
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest) - Vista
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
How Far From Wilna to ...
We spend a lot of time looking through Gazetteers, Almanacs & Directories that were published in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Many of the Gazetteers include the distance from a community such as Wilna to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Wilna and extending to:
- Silver City, which is the Seat of Grant County, lies 39 miles [62.8 km]<1> to the north. If you could walk a straight line from Wilna to Silver City, with an average speed<4> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take over two days to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take just about two full days.
- Santa Fe, which is the State Capital of New Mexico, lies 272 miles [437.7 km] to the north northeast (NNE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take four to five hours, a buggy would take 11 days and walking would take 16 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 1,802 miles [2,900 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take most of three days, a buggy would take 71 days and walking would take 103 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 7,408 miles [11,922 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 8,167 miles [13,143.5 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 6,077 miles [9,780 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Wilna. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for State of New Mexico: www.newmexico.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 drawn from Point A (ie- Wilna) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Wilna. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 32.2070, Longitude: -108.2348 In this case, the coordinates for Wilna have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <2> | If we encounter the name of what might be a community, our methodology is to add that name to our Gazetteer as a placeholder. As we find more information about that community, it will be added to our Gazetteer. Just as a reminder: Our definition of a community is rather broad and includes those places (or areas) where several families lived and had a name which identified that place. For example, you might hear somebody say that they are going over to Bird Creek to see Pete ... Bird Creek is just a gas station and a couple of homes at the crossroads. While it might not be on the map, everybody in the area knows it by that name. Places of interest include buildings at a crossroad, several families clustered in a hollow or maybe the location of a way station. It also includes places like mines, lumber camps, ferry crossings, etc. The community might still exist, is now gone or only existed for just a short period of time. Also keep in mind that Wilna could have been on the original document by mistake, misspelled, the original/alternate name of a community that we've listed elsewhere or was placed in the wrong county. Sometimes a post office or train station would have a different name than the community where it's located, so two names might be referring to the same community - we're working to straighten it all out. |
| <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 Wilna 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 327.996 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 325.999 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 320.176 degrees. |