Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Ideal, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Ideal and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Ideal
- 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 Ideal:
- 40.633122, -79.068088
- 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 Ideal
- 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 Indiana County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Indiana County
- Since Ideal is near Cambria County and also Armstrong County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Cambria County
- eBird sighting report for Armstrong 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 Ideal ...
We found six communities that share the name Ideal.
Within Pennsylvania, the name Ideal is unique.
Beyond Pennsylvania, we know of another six communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these six communities, five are located in the United States and one is in Canada.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Georgia
- Illinois
- Manitoba
- This Ideal lies 1,124 miles [1,808.9 km]<1> to the northwest of the Ideal that is located in Indiana County.
- Ohio
- South Dakota
- Texas
Curious and Interesting Names Near Ideal ...
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.
- Buck Run
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast) - Chestnut Grove
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Chestnut Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chestnut Grove
- Chestnut Grove is located in Indiana County
- Chevy Chase Heights
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Chevy Chase Heights have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chevy Chase Heights
- Chevy Chase Heights is located in Indiana County
- Diamondville
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Diamondville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Diamondville
- Diamondville is located in Indiana County
- Fowler Heights
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fowler Heights have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fowler Heights
- Fowler Heights is located in Indiana County
- Grandview
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west) - Indiana
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indiana
- Indiana is located in Indiana County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 13,120 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Indiana <4>
- Manor
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east) - Pikes Peak
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pikes Peak have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pikes Peak
- Pikes Peak is located in Indiana County
- Pleasant Hill
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pleasant Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Hill
- Pleasant Hill is located in Indiana County
- Rembrant
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast) - Sample Run
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sample Run have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sample Run
- Sample Run is located in Indiana County
- Upper Two Lick
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Upper Two Lick have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Upper Two Lick
- Upper Two Lick is located in Indiana County
How Far From Ideal 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 Ideal to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Ideal and extending to:
- Indiana, which is the Seat of Indiana County, lies just to the West.
- Harrisburg, which is the State Capital of Pennsylvania, lies 117 miles [188.3 km]<1> to the east southeast (ESE). If you could drive a straight line from Ideal to Harrisburg, with an average speed<5>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take about two hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 7 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 5 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 161 miles [259.1 km] to the southeast (SE). Driving would take less than three hours, a buggy would take 7 days and walking would take 10 days.
- The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,907 miles [9,506.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,624 miles [10,660.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,500 miles [7,242 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Ideal. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Indiana County: www.countyofindiana.org/
The official website for State of Pennsylvania: https://www.pa.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a '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- Ideal) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Ideal. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 40.6331, Longitude: -79.0681 In this case, the coordinates for Ideal have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <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 Ideal, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <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're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <5> | 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. |
| <6> | 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 Ideal to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 309.005 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 304.973 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 304.935 degrees. |