|
Tidbits & Trivia
Introduction ...
Below is our collection of tidbits and odds 'n ends for Maddens Spur.
Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Maddens Spur, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Maddens Spur and the surrounding area.
- 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 Maddens Spur:
- 32.199047, -93.293781<1>
- 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 Maddens Spur
- 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 Red River Parish as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- Open the eBird sighting report for Red River Parish
- Since Maddens Spur is near Bienville Parish and also Bossier Parish, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- Open the eBird sighting report for Bienville Parish
- Open the eBird sighting report for Bossier 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:
- Open the Waymark.com report for Maddens Spur
Curious and Interesting Names Near Maddens Spur ...
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.
- Alberta
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Alberta is located in Bienville Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alberta
- Cross Roads
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Cross Roads is also located in Red River Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cross Roads
- Ebenezer
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Ebenezer is located in Bienville Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ebenezer
- Edgefield
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Edgefield is also located in Red River Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edgefield
- Population from the 2020 Census: 185 people
- Halfway
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Halfway is also located in Red River Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Halfway
- Hall Summit
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- High Island
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- High Island is located in Bossier Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for High Island
- Jamestown
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Liberty
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Liberty is also located in Red River Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty
- Loggy Bayou
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Loggy Bayou is also located in Red River Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loggy Bayou
- Martin
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Martin is also located in Red River Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Martin
- Population from the 2020 Census: 543 people
How Far From Maddens Spur 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 included the distance from a community such as Maddens Spur 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 Maddens Spur once stood, the straight-line distance<4> beginning in Maddens Spur and extending to:
- Coushatta, which is the Seat of Red River Parish, lies 12 miles [19.3 km]<4> to the south southwest. If you could walk a straight line from Maddens Spur to Coushatta, with an average speed<5> 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.
- Baton Rouge, which is the State Capital of Louisiana, lies 174 miles [280 km] to the southeast (SE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take about three hours, a buggy would take 7 days and walking would take 10 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 1,021 miles [1,643.1 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take over two days, a buggy would take 40 days and walking would take 58 days.
- The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,880 miles [11,072.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,603 miles [12,235.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,478 miles [8,816 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
Footnotes ...
| <1> | GPS Coordinates for Maddens Spur:
Decimal: 32.19904, -93.293781
DDMMSS: 32° 11' 56", -93° 17' 37" |
| <2> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <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 Maddens Spur, 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 obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Maddens Spur) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <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 Maddens Spur 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 Maddens Spur. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 32.1990, Longitude: -93.2938 In this case, the coordinates for Maddens Spur have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 317.581 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 313.647 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 313.204 degrees. |
|
|