RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Nebraska >> Webster County >> Bladen >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Bladen, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Bladen 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 Bladen:
    • 40.324093, -98.596170
    • 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 Bladen
  • 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 Webster County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Webster County
    • Since Bladen is near Franklin County and also Adams County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Franklin County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Adams 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 Bladen

Communities Also Named Bladen ...

We found four communities that are also named Bladen.

Within Nebraska, the name Bladen is unique.

Beyond Nebraska, we know of four communities that are located in the United States.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Georgia
      • Glynn County
      • This Bladen is located in Glynn County and lies 1,132 miles [1,821.8 km]<1> to the east southeast of the Bladen that is located in Webster County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Glynn County community of Bladen.
    • Maryland
      • Anne Arundel County
      • This Bladen is located in Anne Arundel County and lies 1,167 miles [1,878.1 km]<1> to the east of the Bladen that is located in Webster County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Anne Arundel County community of Bladen.
    • Ohio
      • Gallia County
      • This Bladen is located in Gallia County and lies 880 miles [1,416.2 km]<1> to the east of the Bladen that is located in Webster County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Gallia County community of Bladen.
    • South Carolina
      • Darlington County
      • This Bladen is located in Darlington County and lies 1,094 miles [1,760.6 km]<1> to the east southeast of the Bladen that is located in Webster County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Darlington County community of Bladen.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Bladen ...

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.

How Far From Bladen 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 village such as Bladen to various places of note, such as the White House.

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Bladen and extending to:

  • Red Cloud, which is the Seat of Webster County, lies 16 miles [25.7 km]<1> to the south southeast. If you could walk a straight line from Bladen to Red Cloud, with an average speed<3> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take most of a day to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take five to six hours.
  • Lincoln, which is the State Capital of Nebraska, lies 104 miles [167.4 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than two hours, a buggy would take 4 days and walking would take 6 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 1,148 miles [1,847.5 km] to the east (E). Driving would take over two days, a buggy would take 45 days and walking would take 66 days.
  • The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,642 miles [10,689.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,397 miles [11,904.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,302 miles [8,532.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>'

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 drawn from Point A (ie- Bladen) 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 Bladen 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 Bladen. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 40.3241, Longitude: -98.5962    
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 321.913 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 319.724 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 314.482 degrees.