Outdoor Activities ...

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

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

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

• 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 Gard:
  • 38.862269, -89.960102
  • 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 Gard

• 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 Madison County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
  • Open the eBird sighting report for Madison County
  • Since Gard is near Macoupin County and also Saint Charles County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
  • Open the eBird sighting report for Macoupin County
  • Open the eBird sighting report for Saint Charles 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 Gard

Curious and Interesting Names Near Gard ...

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.

• Carpenter
  (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Carpenter is located in Madison County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carpenter
• Cottage Hills
  (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Cottage Hills is located in Madison County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cottage Hills
• Edwardsville
  (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Edwardsville is located in Madison County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edwardsville
  • Population from the 2020 Census: 25,189 people
  • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Edwardsville <1>
• Fruit
  (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Fruit is located in Madison County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fruit
• Holiday Shores
  (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Holiday Shores is located in Madison County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holiday Shores
• Ivy Heights
  (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Ivy Heights is located in Madison County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ivy Heights
• Maple
  (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Maple is located in Madison County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maple
• Meadowbrook
  (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Meadowbrook is located in Madison County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadowbrook
• Rosedale
  (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Rosedale is located in Madison County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosedale
• Rosewood Heights
  (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Rosewood Heights is located in Madison County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosewood Heights
• Wanda
  (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Wanda is located in Madison County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wanda
• Wood River
  (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Wood River is located in Madison County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wood River
  • Population from the 2020 Census: 10,002 people
  • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wood River <1>

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

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

• Edwardsville, which is the Seat of Madison County, lies just to the South.
• Springfield, which is the State Capital of Illinois, lies 65 miles [104.6 km]<2> to the north northeast (NNE). If you could walk a straight line from Gard to Springfield, with an average speed<3> 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 about three full days.
• The White House (Washington, DC) is 694 miles [1,116.9 km] to the east (E). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take just about two full days, a buggy would take 28 days and walking would take 40 days.
• The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,416 miles [10,325.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
• The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,151 miles [11,508.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
• The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,031 miles [8,096.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>'