Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in West Bend, we use the following websites to find information relevant to West Bend and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for West Bend
- 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 West Bend:
- 37.457543, -93.461031
- 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 West 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 county-by-county basis. We have selected Polk County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Polk County
- Since West Bend is near Greene County and also Dallas County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Greene County
- eBird sighting report for Dallas 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 West Bend ...
We found six communities that share the name West Bend.
Within Missouri, the name West Bend is unique.
Beyond Missouri, we know of another six communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these six communities, five are located in the United States and one is in Canada.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Alabama
- Iowa
- North Carolina
- Pennsylvania
- Saskatchewan
- This West Bend lies 1,091 miles [1,755.8 km]<1> to the north northwest of the West Bend that is located in Polk County.
- Wisconsin
Curious and Interesting Names Near West 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.
- Cave Spring
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cave Spring have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cave Spring
- Cave Spring is located in Greene County
- Eudora
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west) - Harold
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest) - Heady
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast) - Orleans ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest) - Pearl
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south) - Sacville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south) - Walnut Grove
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Walnut Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walnut Grove
- Walnut Grove is located in Greene County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 782 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Walnut Grove <3>
How Far From West Bend 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 community such as West Bend to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in West Bend and extending to:
- Bolivar, which is the Seat of Polk County, lies 11 miles [17.7 km]<1> to the north northeast. If you could walk a straight line from West Bend to Bolivar, with an average speed<4> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take five to six hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take nearly four hours.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 895 miles [1,440.4 km] to the east (E). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take most of two days, a buggy would take 35 days and walking would take 51 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,617 miles [10,649 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,355 miles [11,836.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,238 miles [8,429.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for West Bend. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for State of Missouri: https://www.mo.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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 drawn from Point A (ie- West Bend) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in West Bend. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 37.4575, Longitude: -93.4610 In this case, the coordinates for West Bend 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> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <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 West Bend 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 318.17 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 315.02 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 312.43 degrees. |