Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Illinois Grove, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Illinois Grove and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Illinois Grove
- 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 Illinois Grove:
- 42.190819, -93.223538
- 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 Illinois Grove
- 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 Marshall County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Marshall County
- Since Illinois Grove is near Story County and also Hardin County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Story County
- eBird sighting report for Hardin 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 Illinois Grove ...
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.
- Berlin
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north) - Buckeye
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest) - Garden City
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Garden City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garden City
- Garden City is located in Hardin County
- Hughs
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north) - Lawn Hill
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north) - Malta
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south) - Minerva
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast) - Nevada
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nevada
- Nevada is located in Story County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 6,682 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Nevada <2>
- Steamboat Rock
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Steamboat Rock
- Steamboat Rock is located in Hardin County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 298 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Steamboat Rock <2>
- Union
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
How Far From Illinois Grove 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 community such as Illinois Grove to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<3> beginning in Illinois Grove and extending to:
- Marshalltown, which is the Seat of Marshall County, lies 19 miles [30.6 km]<3> to the east southeast. If you could walk a straight line from Illinois Grove to Marshalltown, with an average speed<4> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take just over a day to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 6 hours.
- Des Moines, which is the State Capital of Iowa, lies 45 miles [72.4 km] to the south southwest (SSW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than an hour, a buggy would take most of two days and walking would take about three full days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 877 miles [1,411.4 km] to the east (E). Driving would take most of two days, a buggy would take 35 days and walking would take 50 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,365 miles [10,243.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,114 miles [11,448.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,011 miles [8,064.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Illinois Grove. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Marshall County: www.co.marshall.ia.us/
The official website for State of Iowa: https://www.iowa.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 from Point A (ie- Illinois Grove) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Illinois Grove. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.1908, Longitude: -93.2235 In this case, the coordinates for Illinois Grove 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 Illinois Grove 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 318.229 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 315.712 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 311.316 degrees. |