Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Holmen, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Holmen and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Holmen
- 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 Holmen:
- 43.956907, -91.259031
- 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 Holmen
- 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 La Crosse County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for La Crosse County
- Since Holmen is near Winona County and also Houston County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Winona County
- eBird sighting report for Houston 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
Curious and Interesting Names Near Holmen ...
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.
- Butman Corners
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Butman Corners have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Butman Corners
- Butman Corners is located in Trempealeau County
- Cold Springs
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cold Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cold Springs
- Cold Springs is located in La Crosse County
- Council Bay
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Council Bay have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Council Bay
- Council Bay is located in La Crosse County
- Dakota
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest) - French Island
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for French Island
- French Island is located in La Crosse County
- Grand Crossing
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Grand Crossing have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grand Crossing
- Grand Crossing is located in La Crosse County
- Holiday Heights
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Holiday Heights have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holiday Heights
- Holiday Heights is located in La Crosse County
- Lakeview ‑ Historic
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south) - River Junction
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for River Junction have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for River Junction
- River Junction is located in Houston County (MN)
- Stevenstown
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Stevenstown have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stevenstown
- Stevenstown is located in La Crosse County
- Sunset Point ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sunset Point have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunset Point
- Sunset Point is located in La Crosse County
How Far From Holmen 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 village such as Holmen to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<2> beginning in Holmen and extending to:
- La Crosse, which is the Seat of La Crosse County, lies 9 miles [14.5 km]<2> to the south. If you could walk a straight line from Holmen to La Crosse, with an average speed<3> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take four to five hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take a little over three hours.
- Madison, which is the State Capital of Wisconsin, lies 111 miles [178.6 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take about two hours, a buggy would take 5 days and walking would take 7 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 813 miles [1,308.4 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving would take just about two full days, a buggy would take 32 days and walking would take 47 days.
- The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,208 miles [9,990.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,958 miles [11,197.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,856 miles [7,815 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Holmen: www.holmenwi.com/
The official website for La Crosse County: www.co.la-crosse.wi.us/
The official website for State of Wisconsin: https://www.wisconsin.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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. |
| <2> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Holmen) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Holmen. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 43.9569, Longitude: -91.2590 In this case, the coordinates for Holmen have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <3> | 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. |
| <4> | 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 Holmen to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <5> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 316.89 degrees. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 314.419 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 309.837 degrees. |