Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Back of the Yards, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Back of the Yards and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Back of the Yards
- 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 Back of the Yards:
- 41.807533, -87.666163
- 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 Back of the Yards
- 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 Cook County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Cook County
- Since Back of the Yards is near Lake County and also DuPage County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Lake County
- eBird sighting report for DuPage 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 Back of the Yards ...
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.
- Bronzeville
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bronzeville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bronzeville
- Bronzeville is located in Cook County
- Ducktown
(Less than 2 miles to the north) - Forestville
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Forestville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forestville
- Forestville is located in Cook County
- Fuller Park
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fuller Park have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fuller Park
- Fuller Park is located in Cook County
- Gage Park
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest) - Grand Boulevard
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Grand Boulevard have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grand Boulevard
- Grand Boulevard is located in Cook County
- Locks
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north) - Mexico
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest) - Mount Pleasant
(Less than 2 miles to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mount Pleasant have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Pleasant
- Mount Pleasant is located in Cook County
- New City
(Less than 2 miles to the east) - New Patch
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast) - Whiskey Row
(Less than 2 miles to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Whiskey Row have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whiskey Row
- Whiskey Row is located in Cook County
How Far From Back of the Yards 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 Back of the Yards to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<2> beginning in Back of the Yards and extending to:
- Chicago, which is the Seat of Cook County, lies just to the North Northeast.
- Springfield, which is the State Capital of Illinois, lies 174 miles [280 km]<2> to the southwest (SW). If you could drive a straight line from Back of the Yards to Springfield, with an average speed<3>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take about three hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 10 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 7 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 593 miles [954.3 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving would take just over a day, a buggy would take 24 days and walking would take 34 days.
- The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,187 miles [9,957 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,925 miles [11,144.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,809 miles [7,739.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Back of the Yards. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Cook County: www.co.cook.il.us/
The official website for State of Illinois: https://illinois.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> | 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- Back of the Yards) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Back of the Yards. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 41.8075, Longitude: -87.6662 In this case, the coordinates for Back of the Yards have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <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 Back of the Yards to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <5> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 314.458 degrees. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 311.347 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 308.604 degrees. |