Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Hecker, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Hecker and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Hecker
- 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 Hecker:
- 38.304900, -89.994144
- 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 Hecker
- 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 Monroe County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Monroe County
- Since Hecker is near Saint Clair County and also Randolph County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Saint Clair County
- eBird sighting report for Randolph 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 Hecker ...
We found two communities that share the name Hecker.
Within Illinois, the name Hecker is unique.
Beyond Illinois, we know of another two communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Louisiana
- Michigan
Curious and Interesting Names Near Hecker ...
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.
- Crest Hill
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Crest Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crest Hill
- Crest Hill is located in Saint Clair County
- Floraville
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Floraville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Floraville
- Floraville is located in Saint Clair County
- Fountain
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west) - Fountain Gap
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fountain Gap have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fountain Gap
- Fountain Gap is located in Monroe County
- Freeburg
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freeburg
- Freeburg is located in Saint Clair County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,223 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Freeburg <4>
- Ivy
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest) - Madonnaville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Madonnaville
- Madonnaville is located in Monroe County
- Marigold
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south) - Prairie
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south) - Red Bud
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Bud
- Red Bud is located in Randolph County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,442 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Red Bud <4>
- Roachtown
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north) - Royal Heights
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Royal Heights have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Royal Heights
- Royal Heights is located in Saint Clair County
- Wartburg
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
How Far From Hecker 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 Hecker to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Hecker and extending to:
- Waterloo, which is the Seat of Monroe County, lies just to the West Northwest.
- Springfield, which is the State Capital of Illinois, lies 103 miles [165.8 km]<1> to the north (N). If you could drive a straight line from Hecker to Springfield, with an average speed<5>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take less than two hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 6 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 4 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 699 miles [1,124.9 km] to the east (E). Driving would take just about two full days, a buggy would take 28 days and walking would take 40 days.
- The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,445 miles [10,372.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,179 miles [11,553.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,058 miles [8,140.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Hecker. 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 obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Hecker) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Hecker. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 38.3049, Longitude: -89.9941 In this case, the coordinates for Hecker 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 Mile's to see Pete ... Mile's 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 Hecker 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 Hecker 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 315.926 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 312.542 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 310.627 degrees. |