Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Islay, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Islay and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Islay
- 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 Islay:
- 41.317757, -105.135532
- 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 Islay
- 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 Laramie County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Laramie County
- Since Islay is near Albany County and also Platte County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Albany County
- eBird sighting report for Platte 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 Islay ...
We found three communities that share the name Islay.
Within Wyoming, the name Islay is unique.
Beyond Wyoming, we know of another three communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these three communities, one is located in the United States and the other two communities are located in Canada.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
Curious and Interesting Names Near Islay ...
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.
- Archer
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast) - Cheyenne
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cheyenne
- Cheyenne is located in Laramie County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 64,742 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cheyenne <4>
- Dale Creek
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dale Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dale Creek
- Dale Creek is located in Albany County
- Diamond
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north) - Farthing
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north) - Granite
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south) - Horse Creek
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Horse Creek
- Horse Creek is located in Laramie County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Horse Creek <4>
- Orchard Valley
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Orchard Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orchard Valley
- Orchard Valley is located in Laramie County
- Red Buttes ‑ Historic
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Red Buttes have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Buttes
- Red Buttes is located in Albany County
- Silver Crown
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Silver Crown have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver Crown
- Silver Crown is located in Laramie County
- Tie Siding
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tie Siding
- Tie Siding is located in Albany County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Tie Siding <4>
How Far From Islay 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 Islay to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Islay and extending to:
- Cheyenne, which is the Seat of Laramie County, lies 21 miles [33.8 km]<1> to the southeast. If you could walk a straight line from Islay to Cheyenne, with an average speed<5> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take just over a day to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take most of a day.
- Cheyenne, which is the State Capital of Wyoming, lies 21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast (SE). The buggy would take most of a day and walking would take just over a day.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 1,486 miles [2,391.5 km] to the east (E). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take most of three days, a buggy would take 58 days and walking would take 85 days.
- The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,786 miles [10,921 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,550 miles [12,150.5 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,490 miles [8,835.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Islay. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Laramie County: www.webgate.co.laramie.wy.us/
The official website for State of Wyoming: www.wyo.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Islay) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Islay. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 41.3178, Longitude: -105.1355 In this case, the coordinates for Islay 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 Islay, 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 Islay 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 326.776 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 325.497 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 317.866 degrees. |