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.
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 town such as Oyen to various places of note, such as Parliament Hill.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<1> beginning in Oyen and extending to:
Edmonton, which is the Provincial Capital of Alberta, lies 197 miles [317 km]<1> to the northwest (NW). If you could drive a straight line from Oyen to Edmonton, with an average speed<2>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take a little over three hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 12 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 8 days.
The National Capital at Parliament Hill (Ottawa, ON) is 1,629 miles [2,621.6 km] to the east (E). Driving would take most of three days, a buggy would take 64 days and walking would take 93 days.
The shortest distance<3> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,322 miles [10,174.3 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<4>
The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,091 miles [11,411.9 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<5>
The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,137 miles [8,267.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>'
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 from Point A (ie- Oyen) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<2>
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.
<3>
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 Oyen to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Oyen. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 51.3536, Longitude: -110.4816
<4>
The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 331.378 degrees.
<5>
The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 331.792 degrees.
<6>
The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 319.567 degrees.