Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Boise, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Boise and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Boise
- 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 Boise:
- 35.214501, -102.859662
- 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 Boise
- 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 Oldham County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Oldham County
- Since Boise is near Quay County and also Deaf Smith County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Quay County
- eBird sighting report for Deaf Smith 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 Boise ...
We found two communities that share the name Boise.
Within Texas, the name Boise is unique.
Beyond Texas, we know of another two communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Idaho
- Washington
Curious and Interesting Names Near Boise ...
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.
- Allen ‑ Historic
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest) - Bard ‑ Historic
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west) - Bootleg
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south) - Corner Windmill
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Corner Windmill have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corner Windmill
- Corner Windmill is located in Oldham County
- Ford
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east) - Knoblaw
(23 miles [37 km] to the north) - Partwood Crossing
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Partwood Crossing have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Partwood Crossing
- Partwood Crossing is located in Oldham County
- Rain Place
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rain Place have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rain Place
- Rain Place is located in Quay County (NM)
- Strip Crossing
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Strip Crossing have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Strip Crossing
- Strip Crossing is located in Oldham County
How Far From Boise to ...
We spend a lot of time looking through Gazetteers that were published in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Many of the Gazetteers include the distance from a community such as Boise 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<3> community of Boise once stood, the straight-line distance beginning in Boise and extending to:
- Vega, which is the Seat of Oldham County, lies 24 miles [38.6 km]<1> to the east. If you could walk a straight line from Boise to Vega, with an average speed<4> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take just about two full days to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take most of a day.
- Austin, which is the State Capital of Texas, lies 452 miles [727.4 km] to the southeast (SE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take most of a day, a buggy would take 18 days and walking would take 26 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 1,440 miles [2,317.5 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take most of three days, a buggy would take 57 days and walking would take 82 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 7,064 miles [11,368.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,817 miles [12,580.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,718 miles [9,202.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for State of Texas: https://texas.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 from Point A (ie- Boise) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Boise. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 35.2145, Longitude: -102.8597 In this case, the coordinates for Boise have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <2> | 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. |
| <3> | 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 Boise, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <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 Boise 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 324.469 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 322.117 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 317.301 degrees. |