RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of New Mexico >> Sandoval County >> Bland >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Bland, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Bland 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 Bland:
    • 35.757526, -106.465309
    • 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 Bland
  • 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 Sandoval County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Sandoval County
    • Since Bland is near Los Alamos County and also Santa Fe County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Los Alamos County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Santa Fe 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 Bland

Communities Also Named Bland ...

We found twelve communities that are also named Bland.

Within New Mexico, the name Bland is unique.

Beyond New Mexico, we know of twelve communities that are located in the United States.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Arkansas
      • Benton County
      • This Bland is located in Benton County and lies 700 miles [1,126.5 km]<1> to the east of the Bland that is located in Sandoval County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Benton County community of Bland.
      • Saline County
      • This Bland is located in Saline County and lies 780 miles [1,255.3 km] to the east of the Bland that is located in Sandoval County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Saline County community of Bland.
    • Colorado
      • Elbert County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<2> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Colorado community of Bland [Elbert County].
    • Florida
      • Alachua County
      • This Bland is located in Alachua County and lies 1,443 miles [2,322.3 km]<1> to the east of the Bland that is located in Sandoval County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Alachua County community of Bland.
    • Georgia
      • Bulloch County
      • This community is historic<3> and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Georgia community of Bland [Bulloch County].
    • Kansas
      • Bourbon County
      • This community is historic<3> and although located in Bourbon County, we don't know where within the county.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Bourbon County community of Bland.
      • Reno County
      • This community is historic and although located in Reno County, we don't know where within the county.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Reno County community of Bland.
    • Missouri
      • Gasconade County
      • This Bland is located in Gasconade County and lies 835 miles [1,343.8 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Bland that is located in Sandoval County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Gasconade County community of Bland.
    • North Carolina
      • Sampson County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<2> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the North Carolina community of Bland [Sampson County].
    • Texas
      • Bell County
      • This Bland is located in Bell County and lies 603 miles [970.4 km]<1> to the east southeast of the Bland that is located in Sandoval County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Bell County community of Bland.
      • Orange County
      • This Bland is located in Orange County and lies 833 miles [1,340.6 km] to the east southeast of the Bland that is located in Sandoval County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Orange County community of Bland.
    • Virginia
      • Bland County
      • This Bland is located in Bland County and lies 1,407 miles [2,264.3 km]<1> to the east of the Bland that is located in Sandoval County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Bland County community of Bland.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Bland ...

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.

  • Clara Peak
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Clara Peak is located in Rio Arriba County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clara Peak
  • Coyote ‑ Historic
    (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
    • Coyote is located in Sandoval County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coyote
  • Deer Creek Landing
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Deer Creek Landing is located in Sandoval County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deer Creek Landing
  • Deer Lake
    (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Deer Lake is located in Sandoval County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deer Lake
  • Frijoles
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Frijoles is located in Sandoval County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frijoles
  • Frijoles Spring
    (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • Frijoles Spring is located in Rio Arriba County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frijoles Spring
  • Ponderosa
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Seven Springs
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Seven Springs is located in Sandoval County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seven Springs
  • Sulphur Springs
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Sulphur Springs is located in Sandoval County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sulphur Springs
  • Waldo ‑ Historic
    (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Waldo is located in Santa Fe County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waldo

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

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers and using the location of where the historic community of Bland once stood, the straight-line distance beginning in Bland and extending to:

  • Bernalillo, which is the Seat of Sandoval County, lies 31 miles [49.9 km]<1> to the south. If you could walk a straight line from Bland to Bernalillo, with an average speed<5> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take most of two days to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take just over a day.
  • Santa Fe, which is the State Capital of New Mexico, lies 29 miles [46.7 km] to the east (E). The buggy would take just over a day and walking would take just about two full days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 1,623 miles [2,612 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take most of three days, a buggy would take 64 days and walking would take 93 days.
  • The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 7,147 miles [11,502 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<7>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,907 miles [12,725.1 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<8>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,825 miles [9,374.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>'

Footnotes ...

<1>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- Bland) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<2>If we encounter the name of what might be a community, our methodology is to add that name to our Gazetteer as a placeholder. As we find more information about that community, it will be added to our Gazetteer.

Just as a reminder: Our definition of a community is rather broad and includes those places (or areas) where several families lived and had a name which identified that place. For example, you might hear somebody say that they are going over to Bird Creek to see Pete ... Bird Creek is just a gas station and a couple of homes at the crossroads. While it might not be on the map, everybody in the area knows it by that name.

Places of interest include buildings at a crossroad, several families clustered in a hollow or maybe the location of a way station. It also includes places like mines, lumber camps, ferry crossings, etc. The community might still exist, is now gone or only existed for just a short period of time.

Also keep in mind that Bland could have been on the original document by mistake, misspelled, the original/alternate name of a community that we've listed elsewhere or was placed in the wrong county. Sometimes a post office or train station would have a different name than the community where it's located, so two names might be referring to the same community - we're working to straighten it all out.
<3>We use the term 'Historic' broadly and it generally means that the community no longer exists. However, it can also mean that the community might still exist, but was significantly larger or had a more 'official' existence in the past than it does now. Unfortunately our sources of data have proven to be unreliable. If you can provide us with more specific information about Bland, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<4>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<5>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.
<6>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 Bland 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 Bland. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 35.7575, Longitude: -106.4653       In this case, the coordinates for Bland have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 327.19 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 325.401 degrees.
<9>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 319.108 degrees.