Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Akin Junction, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Akin Junction and the surrounding area.

• Weather ...
  • Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
  • The National Weather Service forecast for Akin Junction

• 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 Akin Junction:
  • 38.010049, -88.761450
  • 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 Akin Junction

• 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 Franklin County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
  • Open the eBird sighting report for Franklin County
  • Since Akin Junction is near Hamilton County and also Saline County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
  • Open the eBird sighting report for Hamilton County
  • Open the eBird sighting report for Saline 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 Akin Junction

Curious and Interesting Names Near Akin Junction ...

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.

• Diana
  (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Diana is located in Franklin County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Diana
• Flint
  (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Flint is located in Hamilton County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flint
• Greenville ‑ Historic
  (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
  • Greenville is located in Franklin County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenville
• Halltown ‑ Historic
  (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Halltown is located in Saline County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Halltown
• Locust Grove ‑ Historic
  (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
  • Locust Grove is located in Franklin County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Locust Grove
• Rural Hill
  (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Rural Hill is located in Hamilton County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rural Hill
• Rust
  (Less than 2 miles to the south)
  • Rust is located in Franklin County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rust
• Smothersville
  (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Smothersville is located in Franklin County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smothersville
• Steel City
  (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Steel City is located in Franklin County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Steel City
• Tuckers Corners
  (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
  • Tuckers Corners is located in Hamilton County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tuckers Corners
• University
  (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
  • University is located in Hamilton County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for University

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

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<1> beginning in Akin Junction and extending to:

• Benton, which is the Seat of Franklin County, lies just to the West.
• Springfield, which is the State Capital of Illinois, lies 131 miles [210.8 km]<1> to the north northwest (NNW). If you could drive a straight line from Akin Junction to Springfield, with an average speed<2>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take less than three hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 8 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 6 days.
• The White House (Washington, DC) is 636 miles [1,023.5 km] to the east (E). Driving would take just over a day, a buggy would take 25 days and walking would take 37 days.
• The shortest distance<3> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,413 miles [10,320.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<4>
• The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,143 miles [11,495.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
• The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,020 miles [8,078.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>'