RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Illinois >> Cook County >> Big Run Acres >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Big Run Acres, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Big Run Acres and the surrounding area.

  • Weather ...
  • 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 Big Run Acres:
    • 41.646975, -88.025337
    • 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 Big Run Acres
  • 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:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Cook County
    • Since Big Run Acres is near Will County and also DuPage County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Will County
    • Open the 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:
    • Open the Waymark.com report for Big Run Acres

Curious and Interesting Names Near Big Run Acres ...

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.

  • Broken Arrow
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Broken Arrow is located in Will County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Broken Arrow
  • Cache Lake
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
    • Cache Lake is located in Cook County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cache Lake
  • Cherrywood
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Cherrywood is located in Will County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherrywood
  • Chickasaw
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Chickasaw is located in Will County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chickasaw
  • Cinnamon Creek
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Cinnamon Creek is located in Will County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cinnamon Creek
  • Colonial Village
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Colonial Village is located in Will County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colonial Village
  • Dawn Wood
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Dawn Wood is located in Will County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dawn Wood
  • Deer Run
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Deer Run is located in Will County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deer Run
  • Erin Hills
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Erin Hills is located in Will County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Erin Hills
  • Fox Hills
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Fox Hills is located in Cook County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fox Hills
  • Heritage Place
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Heritage Place is located in Will County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heritage Place
  • Honeytree
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Honeytree is located in Will County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Honeytree
  • Continue List   (17 more) ...
    • Hunters Trail
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Hunters Trail is located in Will County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hunters Trail
    • Indian Oaks
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Indian Oaks is located in Will County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Oaks
    • Ivanhoe
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Ivanhoe is located in Will County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ivanhoe
    • Kings Park
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Kings Park is located in Will County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kings Park
    • Lockport
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Long Run Creek
      (Less than 2 miles to the east)
      • Long Run Creek is located in Will County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Long Run Creek
    • Malibu Bay
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
      • Malibu Bay is located in Will County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Malibu Bay
    • Pebble Creek
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Pebble Creek is located in Will County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pebble Creek
    • Poplar Ridge
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
      • Poplar Ridge is located in Will County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poplar Ridge
    • Romeo
      (Less than 2 miles to the west)
      • Romeo is located in Will County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Romeo
    • Romeoville
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Shady Hollow
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
      • Shady Hollow is located in Will County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shady Hollow
    • Spring Creek Woods
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
      • Spring Creek Woods is located in Will County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Creek Woods
    • Stonegate
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
      • Stonegate is located in Will County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stonegate
    • Sugar Brook
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Sugar Brook is located in Will County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sugar Brook
    • Twin Creek
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Twin Creek is located in Will County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twin Creek
    • Whispering Pines
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
      • Whispering Pines is located in Will County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whispering Pines

How Far From Big Run Acres to ...

We spend a lot of time looking through Gazetteers, Almanacs & Directories that were published in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Many of the Gazetteers include the distance from a community such as Big Run Acres to various places of note, such as the White House.

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<2> beginning in Big Run Acres and extending to:

  • Chicago, which is the Seat of Cook County, lies 25 miles [40.2 km]<2> to the northeast. If you could walk a straight line from Big Run Acres to Chicago, with an average speed<3> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take just about two full days to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take most of a day.
  • Springfield, which is the State Capital of Illinois, lies 154 miles [247.8 km] to the southwest (SW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than three hours, a buggy would take 6 days and walking would take 9 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 608 miles [978.5 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving would take just over a day, a buggy would take 24 days and walking would take 35 days.
  • The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,208 miles [9,990.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,947 miles [11,180.1 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>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<2>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or 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- Big Run Acres) 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 Big Run Acres 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 Big Run Acres. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 41.6470, Longitude: -88.0253       In this case, the coordinates for Big Run Acres have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 314.697 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 311.597 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 308.827 degrees.