RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Louisiana >> Natchitoches Parish >> Vienna Bend >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Vienna Bend, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Vienna Bend 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 Vienna Bend:
    • 31.732387, -93.040996
    • 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 Vienna 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 Natchitoches Parish as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Natchitoches Parish
    • Since Vienna Bend is near Winn Parish and also Grant Parish, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Winn Parish
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Grant 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 Vienna Bend

Curious and Interesting Names Near Vienna 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.

  • Bermuda
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Bermuda is located in Natchitoches Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bermuda
  • Breedlove Hills
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Breedlove Hills is located in Natchitoches Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Breedlove Hills
  • Clarence
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Cognac ‑ Historic
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Cognac is located in Natchitoches Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cognac
  • Crews
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Crews is located in Winn Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crews
  • Forest
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Forest is located in Natchitoches Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest
  • Greenwood Park
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Greenwood Park is located in Natchitoches Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenwood Park
  • Knightville ‑ Historic
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Knightville is located in Natchitoches Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knightville
  • Oak Grove
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Oak Grove is located in Natchitoches Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Grove
  • Strongs Ferry
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Strongs Ferry is located in Winn Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Strongs Ferry
  • Williams Corner ‑ Historic
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Williams Corner is located in Natchitoches Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Williams Corner

How Far From Vienna Bend 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 Vienna Bend to various places of note, such as the White House.

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<2> beginning in Vienna Bend and extending to:

  • Natchitoches, which is the Seat of Natchitoches Parish, lies just to the Northwest.
  • Baton Rouge, which is the State Capital of Louisiana, lies 142 miles [228.5 km]<2> to the southeast (SE). If you could drive a straight line from Vienna Bend to Baton Rouge, with an average speed<3>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take less than three hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 8 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 6 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 1,026 miles [1,651.2 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take over two days, a buggy would take 40 days and walking would take 59 days.
  • The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,893 miles [11,093.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,614 miles [12,253.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,489 miles [8,833.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>'

Footnotes ...

<1>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<2>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 from Point A (ie- Vienna Bend) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<3>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.
<4>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 Vienna Bend 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 Vienna Bend. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 31.7324, Longitude: -93.0410       In this case, the coordinates for Vienna Bend have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 317.366 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 313.334 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 313.161 degrees.