RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Indiana >> Dearborn County >> New Alsace >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in New Alsace, we use the following websites to find information relevant to New Alsace 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 New Alsace:
    • 39.234067, -85.003013
    • 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.
    • Open the Heavens-Above website centered on New Alsace
  • 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 Dearborn County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Dearborn County
    • Since New Alsace is near Ripley County and also Franklin County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Ripley County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Franklin 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:
    • Open the Waymark.com report for New Alsace

Curious and Interesting Names Near New Alsace ...

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.

  • Ballstown
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Ballstown is located in Ripley County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ballstown
  • Cedar Grove
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Cedar Grove is located in Franklin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Grove
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 153 people
  • Cold Springs
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Cold Springs is located in Dearborn County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cold Springs
  • Delaware
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Dover
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Dover is located in Dearborn County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dover
  • Elizabethtown
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Elizabethtown is located in Hamilton County (OH)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elizabethtown
  • Fort Gass ‑ Historic
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Fort Gass is located in Hamilton County (OH)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Gass
  • Homestead
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Homestead is located in Dearborn County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Homestead
  • Lookout
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
  • Mound Haven
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Mound Haven is located in Franklin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mound Haven
  • Oak Tree Crossroads
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
  • Pierceville
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Continue List   (6 more) ...
    • Prattsburg
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Prattsburg is located in Ripley County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prattsburg
    • Rockdale
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Spades
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • Spades is located in Ripley County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spades
    • Stringtown
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Stringtown is located in Ripley County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stringtown
    • Stumptown
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Valley Junction
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • Valley Junction is located in Hamilton County (OH)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valley Junction

How Far From New Alsace 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 New Alsace to various places of note, such as the White House.

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<1> beginning in New Alsace and extending to:

  • Lawrenceburg, which is the Seat of Dearborn County, lies 12 miles [19.3 km]<1> to the southeast. If you could walk a straight line from New Alsace to Lawrenceburg, with an average speed<2> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take five to six hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take nearly four hours.
  • Indianapolis, which is the State Capital of Indiana, lies 71 miles [114.3 km] to the west northwest (WNW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than two hours, a buggy would take about three full days and walking would take 4 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 427 miles [687.2 km] to the east (E). Driving would take most of a day, a buggy would take 17 days and walking would take 25 days.
  • The shortest distance<3> 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).<4>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,933 miles [11,157.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,809 miles [7,739.3 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 obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- New Alsace) 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 New Alsace 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 New Alsace. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 39.2341, Longitude: -85.0030    
<4>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 312.741 degrees.
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 309.018 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 308.087 degrees.