Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Boden, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Boden and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Boden
- 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 Boden:
- 41.258368, -90.587079
- 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 Boden
- 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 Mercer County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Mercer County
- Since Boden is near Rock Island County and also Henry County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Rock Island County
- eBird sighting report for Henry 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
Communities Also Named Boden ...
We found three communities that share the name Boden.
Within Illinois, the name Boden is unique.
Beyond Illinois, we know of another three communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Florida
- Ohio
- Texas
Curious and Interesting Names Near Boden ...
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.
- Alpha
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Alpha have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alpha
- Alpha is located in Henry County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 626 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Alpha <3>
- Cable
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast) - Griffin
(5 miles [8 km] to the east) - Hamlet
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest) - Martin ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south) - Oak Grove
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north) - Preemption
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Preemption have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Preemption
- Preemption is located in Mercer County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Preemption <3>
- Shale City
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shale City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shale City
- Shale City is located in Mercer County
- Sugar Grove
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sugar Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sugar Grove
- Sugar Grove is located in Mercer County
- Sunbeam
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunbeam
- Sunbeam is located in Mercer County
How Far From Boden 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 Boden to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Boden and extending to:
- Aledo, which is the Seat of Mercer County, lies 9 miles [14.5 km]<1> to the west southwest. If you could walk a straight line from Boden to Aledo, with an average speed<4> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take four to five hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take a little over three hours.
- Springfield, which is the State Capital of Illinois, lies 113 miles [181.9 km] to the south southeast (SSE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take about two hours, a buggy would take 5 days and walking would take 7 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 733 miles [1,179.6 km] to the east (E). Driving would take just about two full days, a buggy would take 29 days and walking would take 42 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,320 miles [10,171.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,062 miles [11,365.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,950 miles [7,966.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Boden. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for State of Illinois: https://illinois.gov
Footnotes ...
| <1> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Boden) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Boden. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 41.2584, Longitude: -90.5871 In this case, the coordinates for Boden have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <2> | 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. |
| <3> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <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 Boden 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 316.407 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 313.498 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 310.203 degrees. |