RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Iowa >> Clinton County >> Bliedorn >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...










Learn About
The Commemorative
Quarter for
Iowa

The Commemorative Quarter for Iowa





Outdoor Activities ...

As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).

When in Bliedorn, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Bliedorn and the surrounding area.

  • Weather ...
  • 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 Bliedorn:
    • 41.901701, -90.684470
    • 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 Bliedorn
  • 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 Bliedorn ...

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.

  • Big Rock
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Charlotte
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
  • Goose Lake
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Goose Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goose Lake
    • Goose Lake is located in Clinton County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 220 people
  • Grand Mound
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Grand Mound have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grand Mound
    • Grand Mound is located in Clinton County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 591 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Grand Mound <1>
  • Hickory Grove
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
  • Ironhills
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
  • Long Grove
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
  • Lost Nation
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lost Nation have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lost Nation
    • Lost Nation is located in Clinton County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 403 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lost Nation <1>
  • Maysville
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Maysville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maysville
    • Maysville is located in Scott County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 181 people
  • Petersville
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Petersville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Petersville
    • Petersville is located in Clinton County
  • Plainview
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Plainview have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plainview
    • Plainview is located in Scott County
  • Wheatland
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wheatland have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wheatland
    • Wheatland is located in Clinton County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 724 people

How Far From Bliedorn to ...

We spend a lot of time looking through Gazetteers & Almanacs that were published in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Many of the Gazetteers include the distance from a community such as Bliedorn 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 Bliedorn once stood, the straight-line distance<4> beginning in Bliedorn and extending to:

  • Clinton, which is the Seat of Clinton County, lies 25 miles [40.2 km]<4> to the east. If you could walk a straight line from Bliedorn to Clinton, with an average speed<5> 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.
  • Des Moines, which is the State Capital of Iowa, lies 152 miles [244.6 km] to the west (W). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than three hours, a buggy would take 6 days and walking would take 9 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 746 miles [1,200.6 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving would take just about two full days, a buggy would take 30 days and walking would take 43 days.
  • The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,291 miles [10,124.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,035 miles [11,321.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,925 miles [7,926 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>

The official website for Clinton County: www.clintoncountyiowa.com/

The official website for State of Iowa: https://www.iowa.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<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 Bliedorn, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<4>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 drawn from Point A (ie- Bliedorn) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Bliedorn. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 41.9017, Longitude: -90.6845    
<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 Bliedorn 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 316.483 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 313.673 degrees.
<9>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 310.087 degrees.




 

Copyright 2025
All Rights Reserved

Thank you for visiting our website.

In closing, please keep in mind that we can not guarantee the accuracy or timeliness of the information on this website, so use with care. We encourage you to double-check the information that is critical to you.

If you've found an error or have additional information that you would like to share, please don't hesitate to write: Click here to contact us.

This page was last modified/updated: 13 Jul 2025