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:
- 43.543431, -99.921815
- 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 Tripp County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Tripp County
- Since Ideal is near Mellette County and also Lyman County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Mellette County
- eBird sighting report for Lyman 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 South Dakota, the name Ideal is unique.
Beyond South Dakota, 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 490 miles [788.6 km]<1> to the north of the Ideal that is located in Tripp County.
- Ohio
- Pennsylvania
- 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.
- Carter
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carter
- Carter is located in Tripp County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Carter <3>
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Carter
- From Ideal to Carter
- Reliance
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Reliance have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reliance
- Reliance is located in Lyman County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 210 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Reliance <3>
- Winner
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Winner have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winner
- Winner is located in Tripp County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,787 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Winner <3>
How Far From Ideal 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 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:
- Winner, which is the Seat of Tripp County, lies 12 miles [19.3 km]<1> to the south southeast. If you could walk a straight line from Ideal to Winner, with an average speed<5> 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.
- Pierre, which is the State Capital of South Dakota, lies 60 miles [96.6 km] to the north northwest (NNW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than an hour, a buggy would take about three full days and walking would take most of three days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 1,226 miles [1,973.1 km] to the east (E). Driving would take about three full days, a buggy would take 48 days and walking would take 70 days.
- The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,507 miles [10,472 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,268 miles [11,696.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,195 miles [8,360.5 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 State of South Dakota: https://www.sd.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn 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: 43.5434, Longitude: -99.9218 |
| <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> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <4> | 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. |
| <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 323.051 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 321.426 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 314.625 degrees. |