Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Gays, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Gays and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Gays
- 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 Gays:
- 39.458152, -88.496342
- 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 Gays
- 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 Moultrie County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Moultrie County
- Since Gays is near Coles County and also Shelby County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Coles County
- eBird sighting report for Shelby 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 Gays ...
We found one communities that share the name Gays.
Within Illinois, the name Gays is unique.
Beyond Illinois, there is another community also named Gays in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
Curious and Interesting Names Near Gays ...
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.
- Bruce
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest) - Chipps
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north) - Cooks Mills
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cooks Mills
- Cooks Mills is located in Coles County
- Fuller
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north) - Johnstown
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Johnstown
- Johnstown is located in Cumberland County
- Jones
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east) - Kingman
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south) - Kirksville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kirksville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kirksville
- Kirksville is located in Moultrie County
- Magnet
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Magnet
- Magnet is located in Coles County
- Paradise
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast) - Rolling Green
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rolling Green have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rolling Green
- Rolling Green is located in Coles County
How Far From Gays 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 village such as Gays to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<3> beginning in Gays and extending to:
- Sullivan, which is the Seat of Moultrie County, lies 11 miles [17.7 km]<3> to the north northwest. If you could walk a straight line from Gays to Sullivan, with an average speed<4> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take five to six hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take nearly four hours.
- Springfield, which is the State Capital of Illinois, lies 65 miles [104.6 km] to the west northwest (WNW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than an hour, a buggy would take about three full days and walking would take most of three days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 614 miles [988.1 km] to the east (E). Driving would take just over a day, a buggy would take 24 days and walking would take 35 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,332 miles [10,190.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,065 miles [11,370 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,945 miles [7,958.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Gays. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for State of Illinois: https://illinois.gov
Footnotes ...
| <1> | We use the term 'Historic' broadly and it generally means that the community no longer exists. However, it can also mean that the community might still exist, but was significantly larger or had a more 'official' existence in the past than it does now. Unfortunately our sources of data have proven to be unreliable. If you can provide us with more specific information about Gays, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <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> | 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 drawn from Point A (ie- Gays) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Gays. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 39.4582, Longitude: -88.4963 In this case, the coordinates for Gays have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <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 Gays 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 314.985 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 311.619 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 309.646 degrees. |