Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Ideal, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Ideal and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Ideal
- 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 Ideal:
- 41.974655, -89.988307
- 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 Ideal
- 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 Carroll County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Carroll County
- Since Ideal is near Whiteside County and also Clinton County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Whiteside County
- eBird sighting report for Clinton 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 Ideal ...
We found six communities that share the name Ideal.
Within Illinois, the name Ideal is unique.
Beyond Illinois, we know of another six communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these six communities, five are located in the United States and one is in Canada.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Georgia
- Manitoba
- This Ideal lies 693 miles [1,115.3 km]<1> to the north northwest of the Ideal that is located in Carroll County.
- Ohio
- Pennsylvania
- South Dakota
- Texas
Curious and Interesting Names Near Ideal ...
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.
- Elk River Junction
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Elk River Junction have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elk River Junction
- Elk River Junction is located in Clinton County (IA)
- Fair Haven
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fair Haven
- Fair Haven is located in Carroll County
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Fair Haven
- From Ideal to Fair Haven
- Hickory Grove
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Hickory Grove. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<4>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hickory Grove
- Hickory Grove is located in Carroll County
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Hickory Grove
- From Ideal to Hickory Grove
- Spring Valley
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Valley
- Spring Valley is located in Whiteside County
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Spring Valley
- From Ideal to Spring Valley
- Union Grove
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union Grove
- Union Grove is located in Whiteside County
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Union Grove
- From Ideal to Union Grove
- Unionville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Unionville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Unionville
- Unionville is located in Whiteside County
- Ustick
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south) - Wacker
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wacker
- Wacker is located in Carroll County
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Wacker
- From Ideal to Wacker
- White Pigeon
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for White Pigeon. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<4>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Pigeon
- White Pigeon is located in Whiteside County
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to White Pigeon
- From Ideal to White Pigeon
How Far From Ideal 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 community such as Ideal to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Ideal and extending to:
- Mount Carroll, which is the Seat of Carroll County, lies just to the North.
- Springfield, which is the State Capital of Illinois, lies 152 miles [244.6 km]<1> to the south (S). If you could drive a straight line from Ideal to Springfield, with an average speed<5>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take less than three hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 9 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 6 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 712 miles [1,145.9 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving would take just about two full days, a buggy would take 28 days and walking would take 41 days.
- The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,263 miles [10,079.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,006 miles [11,275.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,894 miles [7,876.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Ideal. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Carroll County: visitcarrollcountyil.com/
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- Ideal) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Ideal. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 41.9747, Longitude: -89.9883 |
| <2> | 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 Ideal, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <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> | An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace. |
| <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 Ideal 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 316.013 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 313.145 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 309.717 degrees. |