Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Maple Bluff, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Maple Bluff and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Maple Bluff
- 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 Maple Bluff:
- 43.109717, -89.369563
- 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 Maple Bluff
- 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 Dane County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Dane County
- Since Maple Bluff is near Columbia County and also Jefferson County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Columbia County
- eBird sighting report for Jefferson 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 Maple Bluff ...
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.
- Catfish ‑ Historic
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest) - Darwin ‑ Historic
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast) - Elmside
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast) - Hope
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast) - Pheasant Branch
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pheasant Branch have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pheasant Branch
- Pheasant Branch is located in Dane County
- Pilgrim Village
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pilgrim Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pilgrim Village
- Pilgrim Village is located in Dane County
- Raintree
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast) - Seminary Springs
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Seminary Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seminary Springs
- Seminary Springs is located in Dane County
- Sunburst
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast) - Token Creek
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Token Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Token Creek
- Token Creek is located in Dane County
How Far From Maple Bluff 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 village such as Maple Bluff to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<2> beginning in Maple Bluff and extending to:
- Madison, which is the Seat of Dane County, lies just to the South Southwest.
- Madison, which is the State Capital of Wisconsin, lies just to the south southwest (SSW).
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 704 miles [1,133 km]<2> to the east southeast (ESE). If you could drive a straight line from Maple Bluff to White House, with an average speed<3>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take just about two full days to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 40 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 28 days.
- The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,185 miles [9,953.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,930 miles [11,152.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,820 miles [7,757 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Maple Bluff: www.villageofmaplebluff.com/
The official website for Dane County: www.co.dane.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 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Maple Bluff) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Maple Bluff. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 43.1097, Longitude: -89.3696 In this case, the coordinates for Maple Bluff 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 Maple Bluff 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 315.595 degrees. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 312.827 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 309.088 degrees. |