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Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Backus, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Backus 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 Backus:
- 46.820487, -94.514850
- 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 Backus
- 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 county-by-county basis. We have selected Cass County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- Open the eBird sighting report for Cass County
- Since Backus is near Hubbard County and also Crow Wing County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- Open the eBird sighting report for Hubbard County
- Open the eBird sighting report for Crow Wing 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:
- Open the Waymark.com report for Backus
Communities Also Named Backus ...
We found three communities that are also named Backus.
Within Minnesota, the name Backus is unique.
Beyond Minnesota, we know of three communities that are located in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- New York
- Saint Lawrence County
- This Backus is located in Saint Lawrence County and lies 946 miles [1,522.4 km]<1> to the east of the Backus that is located in Cass County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Saint Lawrence County community of Backus.
- Pennsylvania
- McKean County
- This Backus is located in McKean County and lies 858 miles [1,380.8 km]<1> to the east southeast of the Backus that is located in Cass County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the McKean County community of Backus.
- West Virginia
- Fayette County
- This Backus is located in Fayette County and lies 925 miles [1,488.6 km]<1> to the southeast of the Backus that is located in Cass County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Fayette County community of Backus.
Curious and Interesting Names Near Backus ...
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.
- Chamberlain
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Chamberlain is located in Hubbard County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chamberlain
- Hackensack
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Huntersville
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Huntersville is located in Wadena County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huntersville
- Jenkins
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Longville
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Mildred
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Mildred is located in Cass County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mildred
- Pine River
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Poplar
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Poplar is located in Cass County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poplar
How Far From Backus 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 city such as Backus to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Backus and extending to:
- Walker, which is the Seat of Cass County, lies 19 miles [30.6 km]<1> to the north. If you could walk a straight line from Backus to Walker, with an average speed<3> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take just over a day to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 6 hours.
- Saint Paul, which is the State Capital of Minnesota, lies 145 miles [233.4 km] to the south southeast (SSE). 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 1,036 miles [1,667.3 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving would take over two days, a buggy would take 41 days and walking would take 59 days.
- The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,166 miles [9,923.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,926 miles [11,146.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,848 miles [7,802.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>'
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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- Backus) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <2> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <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 Backus 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 Backus. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 46.8205, Longitude: -94.5148 In this case, the coordinates for Backus have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <5> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 319.184 degrees. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 317.414 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 310.843 degrees. |
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