RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Minnesota >> Morrison County >> Bowlus >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Bowlus, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Bowlus 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 Bowlus:
    • 45.822028, -94.405525
    • 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 Bowlus
  • 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 Morrison County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Morrison County
    • Since Bowlus is near Stearns County and also Benton County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Stearns County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Benton 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 Bowlus

Curious and Interesting Names Near Bowlus ...

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.

  • Collegeville
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
  • Elmdale
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Evergreen Village
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Evergreen Village is located in Stearns County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evergreen Village
  • Five Points
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Five Points is located in Stearns County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Five Points
  • Gregory
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Gregory is located in Morrison County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gregory
  • Grey Eagle
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
  • Holdingford
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Little Falls
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
  • Little Rock
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Little Rock is located in Morrison County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Rock
  • Continue List   (6 more) ...
    • Maple Leaf Court
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
      • Maple Leaf Court is located in Morrison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maple Leaf Court
    • Mayhew
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Mayhew is located in Benton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mayhew
    • Pillsbury
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Pleasant Beach
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • Pleasant Beach is located in Todd County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Beach
    • Rice
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Rice is located in Benton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rice
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,401 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rice <1>
    • Swanville
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)

How Far From Bowlus 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 include the distance from a city such as Bowlus to various places of note, such as the White House.

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

  • Little Falls, which is the Seat of Morrison County, lies 10 miles [16.1 km]<2> to the north. If you could walk a straight line from Bowlus to Little Falls, with an average speed<3> 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.
  • Saint Paul, which is the State Capital of Minnesota, lies 87 miles [140 km] to the southeast (SE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than two hours, a buggy would take most of three days and walking would take 5 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 1,003 miles [1,614.2 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving would take most of two days, a buggy would take 40 days and walking would take 57 days.
  • The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,215 miles [10,002.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,973 miles [11,222 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,890 miles [7,869.7 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 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Bowlus) 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 Bowlus 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 Bowlus. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 45.8220, Longitude: -94.4055    
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 319.109 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 317.197 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 311.048 degrees.