Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Branstad, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Branstad and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Branstad
- 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 Branstad:
- 45.737454, -92.682983
- 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 Branstad
- 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 Burnett County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Burnett County
- Since Branstad is near Polk County and also Pine County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Polk County
- eBird sighting report for Pine 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
Curious and Interesting Names Near Branstad ...
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.
- Alpha
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alpha
- Alpha is located in Burnett County
- Atlas
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Atlas
- Atlas is located in Polk County
- Four Corners
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Four Corners have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Four Corners
- Four Corners is located in Burnett County
- Frederic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast) - Pole Cat Crossing
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pole Cat Crossing have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pole Cat Crossing
- Pole Cat Crossing is located in Burnett County
- Randall
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west) - Rock Creek
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rock Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock Creek
- Rock Creek is located in Pine County (MN)
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,658 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rock Creek <2>
- Trade Lake
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Trade Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trade Lake
- Trade Lake is located in Burnett County
- Trade River
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Trade River have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trade River
- Trade River is located in Burnett County
How Far From Branstad 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 Branstad to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<3> beginning in Branstad and extending to:
- Grantsburg, which is the Seat of Burnett County, lies just to the North.
- Madison, which is the State Capital of Wisconsin, lies 245 miles [394.3 km]<3> to the southeast (SE). If you could drive a straight line from Branstad to Madison, with an average speed<4>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take nearly four hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 14 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 10 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 925 miles [1,488.6 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving would take most of two days, a buggy would take 37 days and walking would take 53 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,164 miles [9,920 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,920 miles [11,136.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,830 miles [7,773.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Branstad. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Burnett County: www.burnettcounty.com/gov/
The official website for State of Wisconsin: https://www.wisconsin.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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. |
| <2> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <3> | 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- Branstad) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Branstad. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 45.7375, Longitude: -92.6830 In this case, the coordinates for Branstad have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <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 Branstad 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 317.88 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 315.789 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 310.115 degrees. |