Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Spider, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Spider and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Spider
- 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 Spider:
- 31.952388, -93.777685
- 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 Spider
- 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 De Soto Parish as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for De Soto Parish
- Since Spider is near Sabine Parish and also Shelby County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Sabine Parish
- eBird sighting report for Shelby 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:
- Waymark.com
Communities Also Named Spider ...
We found one communities that share the name Spider.
Within Louisiana, the name Spider is unique.
Beyond Louisiana, there is another community also named Spider in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
Curious and Interesting Names Near Spider ...
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.
- Coker
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast) - Cook ‑ Historic
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest) - Eudora ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east) - Halcyon ‑ Historic
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east) - Hunter
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest) - Meadow Park
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Meadow Park have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadow Park
- Meadow Park is located in De Soto Parish
- Porter Place
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Porter Place have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Porter Place
- Porter Place is located in De Soto Parish
- Stanley
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west) - Union Springs
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Union Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union Springs
- Union Springs is located in Sabine Parish
- Wildwood
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast) - Willow Glen
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Willow Glen have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willow Glen
- Willow Glen is located in De Soto Parish
How Far From Spider 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 Spider 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 Spider once stood, the straight-line distance beginning in Spider and extending to:
- Mansfield, which is the Seat of De Soto Parish, lies just to the Northeast.
- Baton Rouge, which is the State Capital of Louisiana, lies 186 miles [299.3 km]<1> to the southeast (SE). If you could drive a straight line from Spider to Baton Rouge, with an average speed<4>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take a little over three hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 11 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 8 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 1,054 miles [1,696.2 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take over two days, a buggy would take 42 days and walking would take 60 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,911 miles [11,122.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,635 miles [12,287.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,510 miles [8,867.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for State of Louisiana: louisiana.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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 from Point A (ie- Spider) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Spider. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 31.9524, Longitude: -93.7777 In this case, the coordinates for Spider have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <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 Spider, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | 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. |
| <5> | 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 Spider to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 317.862 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 313.943 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 313.442 degrees. |