Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Bend, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Bend and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Bend
- 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 Bend:
- 30.021035, -90.752592
- 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 Bend
- 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 parish-by-parish basis. We have selected Saint James Parish as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Saint James Parish
- Since Bend is near Saint John the Baptist Parish and also Ascension Parish, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Saint John the Baptist Parish
- eBird sighting report for Ascension Parish
- 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 Bend ...
We found eleven communities that share the name Bend.
Within Louisiana, the name Bend is unique.
Beyond Louisiana, we know of another eleven communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these eleven communities, ten are located in the United States and one is in Canada.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Arkansas
- British Columbia
- This Bend lies 2,229 miles [3,587.2 km]<1> to the north northwest of the Bend that is located in Saint James Parish.
- California
- Missouri
- Montana
- Ohio
- Oregon
- Crook County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<2> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Oregon community of Bend [Crook County].
- Deschutes County
- This Bend is located in Deschutes County and lies 1,926 miles [3,099.6 km]<1> to the northwest of the Bend that is located in Saint James Parish.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Deschutes County community of Bend.
- South Dakota
- Texas
- Virginia
Curious and Interesting Names Near Bend ...
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.
- Chatman Town
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Chatman Town have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chatman Town
- Chatman Town is located in Saint James Parish
- Chopin ‑ Historic
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest) - Convent
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Convent
- Convent is located in Saint James Parish
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Convent <5>
- Grand Point
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Grand Point have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grand Point
- Grand Point is located in Saint James Parish
- Grand View ‑ Historic
(Less than 2 miles to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Grand View have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grand View
- Grand View is located in Saint James Parish
- Miles
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast) - Oak Alley
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest) - Pikes Peak
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pikes Peak have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pikes Peak
- Pikes Peak is located in Saint James Parish
- Sport
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast) - Uncle Sam
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Uncle Sam have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Uncle Sam
- Uncle Sam is located in Saint James Parish
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Uncle Sam <5>
- Willow Grove
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Willow Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willow Grove
- Willow Grove is located in Saint John the Baptist Parish
How Far From Bend 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 community such as Bend to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Bend and extending to:
- Convent, which is the Seat of Saint James Parish, lies just to the West.
- Baton Rouge, which is the State Capital of Louisiana, lies 38 miles [61.2 km]<1> to the northwest (NW). If you could walk a straight line from Bend to Baton Rouge, with an average speed<6> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take over two days to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take just about two full days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 990 miles [1,593.3 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take most of two days, a buggy would take 39 days and walking would take 57 days.
- The shortest distance<7> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,886 miles [11,081.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,593 miles [12,219.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,470 miles [8,803.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<10>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Bend. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Saint James Parish: www.stjamesla.com/
The official website for State of Louisiana: louisiana.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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- Bend) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Bend. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 30.0210, Longitude: -90.7526 In this case, the coordinates for Bend have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <2> | If we encounter the name of what might be a community, our methodology is to add that name to our Gazetteer as a placeholder. As we find more information about that community, it will be added to our Gazetteer. Just as a reminder: Our definition of a community is rather broad and includes those places (or areas) where several families lived and had a name which identified that place. For example, you might hear somebody say that they are going over to Bird Creek to see Pete ... Bird Creek is just a gas station and a couple of homes at the crossroads. While it might not be on the map, everybody in the area knows it by that name. Places of interest include buildings at a crossroad, several families clustered in a hollow or maybe the location of a way station. It also includes places like mines, lumber camps, ferry crossings, etc. The community might still exist, is now gone or only existed for just a short period of time. Also keep in mind that Bend could have been on the original document by mistake, misspelled, the original/alternate name of a community that we've listed elsewhere or was placed in the wrong parish. Sometimes a post office or train station would have a different name than the community where it's located, so two names might be referring to the same community - we're working to straighten it all out. |
| <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 Bend, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | 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. |
| <5> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <6> | 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. |
| <7> | 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 Bend to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 315.742 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 311.211 degrees. |
| <10> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 312.472 degrees. |