Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Harpster, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Harpster and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Harpster
- 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 Harpster:
- 40.405589, -88.448668
- 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 Harpster
- 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 Ford County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Ford County
- Since Harpster is near Champaign County and also McLean County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Champaign County
- eBird sighting report for McLean 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 Harpster ...
We found two communities that share the name Harpster.
Within Illinois, the name Harpster is unique.
Beyond Illinois, we know of another two communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Idaho
- Ohio
Curious and Interesting Names Near Harpster ...
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.
- Anchor
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anchor
- Anchor is located in McLean County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 137 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Anchor <2>
- Arrowsmith
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Arrowsmith have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arrowsmith
- Arrowsmith is located in McLean County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 275 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Arrowsmith <2>
- Derby
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north) - Dewey
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dewey have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dewey
- Dewey is located in Champaign County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Dewey <2>
- Farmer City
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Farmer City have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Farmer City
- Farmer City is located in De Witt County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,906 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Farmer City <2>
- Fisher
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fisher have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fisher
- Fisher is located in Champaign County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,911 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fisher <2>
- Harris
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest) - Lotus
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lotus
- Lotus is located in Champaign County
- Prospect
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prospect
- Prospect is located in Champaign County
- Weedman
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
How Far From Harpster 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 Harpster to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Harpster and extending to:
- Paxton, which is the Seat of Ford County, lies 18 miles [29 km]<1> to the east. If you could walk a straight line from Harpster to Paxton, with an average speed<4> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take just over a day to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take five to six hours.
- Springfield, which is the State Capital of Illinois, lies 76 miles [122.3 km] to the west southwest (WSW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than two hours, a buggy would take most of three days and walking would take 5 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 615 miles [989.7 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 6,284 miles [10,113.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,020 miles [11,297.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,901 miles [7,887.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Harpster. 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- Harpster) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Harpster. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 40.4056, Longitude: -88.4487 In this case, the coordinates for Harpster have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <2> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <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 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 Harpster 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 314.97 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 311.734 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 309.375 degrees. |