RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Wisconsin >> Polk County >> Luck >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Luck, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Luck 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 Luck:
    • 45.575233, -92.467422
    • 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 Luck
  • 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:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Polk County
    • Since Luck is near Burnett County and also Chisago County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Burnett County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Chisago 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 Luck

Communities Also Named Luck ...

We found two communities that are also named Luck.

Within Wisconsin, the name Luck is unique.

Beyond Wisconsin, we know of two communities that are located in the United States.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Georgia
      • Hall County
      • This community is historic<1> and although located in Hall County, we don't know where within the county.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Hall County community of Luck.
    • North Carolina
      • Madison County
      • This Luck is located in Madison County and lies 843 miles [1,356.7 km]<2> to the southeast of the Luck that is located in Polk County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Madison County community of Luck.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Luck ...

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.

  • Atlas
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Atlas is located in Polk County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Atlas
  • Eureka Center
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Eureka Center is located in Polk County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eureka Center
  • Four Corners
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Four Corners is located in Burnett County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Four Corners
  • Fox Creek
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Fox Creek is located in Polk County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fox Creek
  • Frederic
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Frederic is located in Polk County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frederic
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,080 people
  • Lewis
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Lewis is located in Polk County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lewis
  • Milltown
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Milltown is located in Polk County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milltown
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 875 people
  • Pole Cat Crossing
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Pole Cat Crossing is located in Burnett County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pole Cat Crossing
  • Trade Lake
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Trade Lake is located in Burnett County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trade Lake

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

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

  • Balsam Lake, which is the Seat of Polk County, lies just to the South.
  • Madison, which is the State Capital of Wisconsin, lies 229 miles [368.5 km]<2> to the southeast (SE). If you could drive a straight line from Luck to Madison, with an average speed<3>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 13 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 9 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 911 miles [1,466.1 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving would take most of two days, a buggy would take 36 days and walking would take 52 days.
  • The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,166 miles [9,923.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,921 miles [11,138.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,830 miles [7,773.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>'

Footnotes ...

<1>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 Luck, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<2>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a '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- Luck) 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 Luck 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 Luck. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 45.5752, Longitude: -92.4674       In this case, the coordinates for Luck have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 317.729 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 315.595 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 310.041 degrees.