Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Downs, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Downs and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Downs
- 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 Downs:
- 40.399271, -88.891222
- 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 Downs
- 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 McLean County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for McLean County
- Since Downs is near De Witt County and also Piatt County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for De Witt County
- eBird sighting report for Piatt 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 Downs ...
We found fourteen communities that share the name Downs.
Within Illinois, the name Downs is unique.
Beyond Illinois, we know of another fourteen communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Alabama
- Macon County
- This Downs is located in Macon County and lies 587 miles [944.7 km]<1> to the south southeast of the Downs that is located in McLean County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Macon County community of Downs.
- Tuscaloosa County
- This Downs is located in Tuscaloosa County and lies 503 miles [809.5 km] to the south of the Downs that is located in McLean County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Tuscaloosa County community of Downs.
- Georgia
- Warren County
- This Downs is located in Warren County and lies 597 miles [960.8 km]<1> to the southeast of the Downs that is located in McLean County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Warren County community of Downs.
- Washington County
- This Downs is located in Washington County and lies 611 miles [983.3 km] to the southeast of the Downs that is located in McLean County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Washington County community of Downs.
- Kansas
- Maryland
- North Carolina
- Oregon
- South Carolina
- Texas
- Utah
- Salt Lake County
- This Downs is located in Salt Lake County and lies 1,201 miles [1,932.8 km]<1> to the west of the Downs that is located in McLean County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Salt Lake County community of Downs.
- Weber County
- This Downs is located in Weber County and lies 1,204 miles [1,937.7 km] to the west of the Downs that is located in McLean County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Weber County community of Downs.
- Washington
- West Virginia
- Alabama
Curious and Interesting Names Near Downs ...
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.
- Burns
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west) - Eagle Ridge
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Eagle Ridge have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eagle Ridge
- Eagle Ridge is located in McLean County
- Hedgewood
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north) - Holder
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast) - Le Roy
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Le Roy have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Le Roy
- Le Roy is located in McLean County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,498 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Le Roy <4>
- Littleville ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Littleville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Littleville
- Littleville is located in McLean County
- Normal
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Normal
- Normal is located in McLean County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 54,451 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Normal <4>
- Randolph
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west) - Shamrock
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
How Far From Downs 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 village such as Downs to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Downs and extending to:
- Bloomington, which is the Seat of McLean County, lies just to the Northwest.
- Springfield, which is the State Capital of Illinois, lies 58 miles [93.3 km]<1> to the southwest (SW). If you could walk a straight line from Downs to Springfield, with an average speed<5> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take most of three days to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take over two days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 638 miles [1,026.8 km] to the east (E). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take just over a day, a buggy would take 25 days and walking would take 37 days.
- The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,301 miles [10,140.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,038 miles [11,326.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,920 miles [7,918 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Downs. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for McLean County: www.mclean.gov/
The official website for State of Illinois: https://illinois.gov
Footnotes ...
| <1> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a '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- Downs) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Downs. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 40.3993, Longitude: -88.8912 In this case, the coordinates for Downs have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <2> | If we encounter the name of what might be a community, our methodology is to add that name to our Gazetteer as a placeholder. As we find more information about that community, it will be added to our Gazetteer. Just as a reminder: Our definition of a community is rather broad and includes those places (or areas) where several families lived and had a name which identified that place. For example, you might hear somebody say that they are going over to Bird Creek to see Pete ... Bird Creek is just a gas station and a couple of homes at the crossroads. While it might not be on the map, everybody in the area knows it by that name. Places of interest include buildings at a crossroad, several families clustered in a hollow or maybe the location of a way station. It also includes places like mines, lumber camps, ferry crossings, etc. The community might still exist, is now gone or only existed for just a short period of time. Also keep in mind that Downs could have been on the original document by mistake, misspelled, the original/alternate name of a community that we've listed elsewhere or was placed in the wrong county. Sometimes a post office or train station would have a different name than the community where it's located, so two names might be referring to the same community - we're working to straighten it all out. |
| <3> | 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. |
| <4> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <5> | 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. |
| <6> | 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 Downs to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 315.261 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 312.066 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 309.591 degrees. |