Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Provencal, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Provencal and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Provencal
- 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 Provencal:
- 31.652776, -93.201969
- 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 Provencal
- 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 Natchitoches Parish as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Natchitoches Parish
- Since Provencal is near Sabine Parish and also Winn Parish, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Sabine Parish
- eBird sighting report for Winn 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
Curious and Interesting Names Near Provencal ...
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.
- Breedlove Hills
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Breedlove Hills have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Breedlove Hills
- Breedlove Hills is located in Natchitoches Parish
- Flora
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Flora have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flora
- Flora is located in Natchitoches Parish
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Flora <2>
- Forest
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast) - Greenwood Park
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Greenwood Park have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenwood Park
- Greenwood Park is located in Natchitoches Parish
- Knightville ‑ Historic
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Knightville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knightville
- Knightville is located in Natchitoches Parish
- Oak Grove
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north) - Shady Grove
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shady Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shady Grove
- Shady Grove is located in Natchitoches Parish
- Shamrock
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest) - Vowells Mill
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Vowells Mill. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vowells Mill
- Vowells Mill is located in Natchitoches Parish
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Vowells Mill
- From Provencal to Vowells Mill
How Far From Provencal 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 village such as Provencal to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<4> beginning in Provencal and extending to:
- Natchitoches, which is the Seat of Natchitoches Parish, lies 10 miles [16.1 km]<4> to the northeast. If you could walk a straight line from Provencal to Natchitoches, with an average speed<5> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take four to five hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take a little over three hours.
- Baton Rouge, which is the State Capital of Louisiana, lies 146 miles [235 km] to the southeast (SE). 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 1,037 miles [1,668.9 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take over two days, a buggy would take 41 days and walking would take 59 days.
- The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,904 miles [11,110.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,625 miles [12,271.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,500 miles [8,851.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Provencal. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for State of Louisiana: https://www.louisiana.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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. |
| <2> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <3> | An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace. |
| <4> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Provencal) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Provencal. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 31.6528, Longitude: -93.2020 |
| <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 Provencal 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 317.459 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 313.432 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 313.239 degrees. |