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Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Irene, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Irene and the surrounding area.
- 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 Irene:
- 42.170420, -88.900570
- 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 Irene
- 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 Boone County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- Open the eBird sighting report for Boone County
- Since Irene is near Ogle County and also Winnebago County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- Open the eBird sighting report for Ogle County
- Open the eBird sighting report for Winnebago 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 Irene
Communities Also Named Irene ...
We found thirteen communities that are also named Irene.
Within Illinois, the name Irene is unique.
Beyond Illinois, we know of thirteen communities that are located in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Alabama
- Calhoun County
- This community is historic<1> and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Alabama community of Irene [Calhoun County].
- Georgia
- Washington County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<2> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Georgia community of Irene [Washington County].
- Kansas
- Hamilton County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<2> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Kansas community of Irene [Hamilton County].
- Pratt County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Kansas community of Irene [Pratt County].
- Louisiana
- East Baton Rouge Parish
- This Irene is located in East Baton Rouge Parish and lies 808 miles [1,300.3 km]<3> to the south of the Irene that is located in Boone County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the East Baton Rouge Parish community of Irene.
- Mississippi
- Pike County
- This Irene is located in Pike County and lies 764 miles [1,229.5 km]<3> to the south of the Irene that is located in Boone County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Pike County community of Irene.
- Ohio
- Summit County
- This community is historic<1> and although located in Summit County, we don't know where within the county.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Summit County community of Irene.
- South Dakota
- Turner County
- This Irene is located in Turner County and lies 424 miles [682.4 km]<3> to the west northwest of the Irene that is located in Boone County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Turner County community of Irene.
- Tennessee
- Shelby County
- This community is historic<1> and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Tennessee community of Irene [Shelby County].
- Texas
- Hill County
- This Irene is located in Hill County and lies 827 miles [1,330.9 km]<3> to the southwest of the Irene that is located in Boone County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Hill County community of Irene.
- Utah
- Weber County
- This Irene is located in Weber County and lies 1,187 miles [1,910.3 km]<3> to the west of the Irene that is located in Boone County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Weber County community of Irene.
- Virginia
- Loudoun County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<2> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Virginia community of Irene [Loudoun County].
- West Virginia
- Lincoln County
- This Irene is located in Lincoln County and lies 462 miles [743.5 km]<3> to the southeast of the Irene that is located in Boone County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Lincoln County community of Irene.
Curious and Interesting Names Near Irene ...
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.
- Cherry Valley
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Cheyenne Heights
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Cheyenne Heights is located in Winnebago County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cheyenne Heights
- Coventry Creek
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Coventry Creek is located in Winnebago County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coventry Creek
- Garden Prairie
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Herbert
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Herbert is located in Boone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Herbert
- Panorama Valley
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Panorama Valley is located in Winnebago County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Panorama Valley
- Prairie View
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Prairie View is located in Boone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairie View
- Reeds Crossing ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Reeds Crossing is located in Boone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reeds Crossing
- Silver Hills
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Silver Hills is located in Winnebago County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver Hills
How Far From Irene 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 Irene to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Irene and extending to:
- Belvidere, which is the Seat of Boone County, lies just to the North Northeast.
- Springfield, which is the State Capital of Illinois, lies 169 miles [272 km]<3> to the south southwest (SSW). If you could drive a straight line from Irene to Springfield, with an average speed<5>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take about three hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 10 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 7 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 661 miles [1,063.8 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving would take just about two full days, a buggy would take 26 days and walking would take 38 days.
- The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,214 miles [10,000.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,956 miles [11,194.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,843 miles [7,794.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>'
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 Irene, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <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 Rock Creek to see Pete ... Rock Creek 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 Irene 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> | 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- Irene) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <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 Irene to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Irene. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.1704, Longitude: -88.9006 In this case, the coordinates for Irene have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 315.281 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 312.337 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 309.116 degrees. |
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