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.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Irene
- 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.
- 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:
- 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:
- eBird sighting report for Ogle County
- 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:
- Waymark.com
Communities Also Named Irene ...
We found thirteen communities that share the name Irene.
Within Illinois, the name Irene is unique.
Beyond Illinois, we know of another thirteen communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Alabama
- Georgia
- 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
- Mississippi
- Ohio
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Utah
- Virginia
- West Virginia
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)- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Cherry Valley. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<4>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherry Valley
- Cherry Valley is located in Winnebago County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,853 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cherry Valley <5>
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Cherry Valley
- From Irene to Cherry Valley
- Cheyenne Heights
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cheyenne Heights have been provided by the GNIS.<6> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cheyenne Heights
- Cheyenne Heights is located in Winnebago County
- Coventry Creek
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Coventry Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<6> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coventry Creek
- Coventry Creek is located in Winnebago County
- Garden Prairie
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garden Prairie
- Garden Prairie is located in Boone County
- Population from the 2010 Census: 352 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Garden Prairie <5>
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Garden Prairie
- From Irene to Garden Prairie
- Herbert
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east) - Panorama Valley
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Panorama Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<6> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Panorama Valley
- Panorama Valley is located in Winnebago County
- Prairie View
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Prairie View have been provided by the GNIS.<6> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairie View
- Prairie View is located in Boone County
- Reeds Crossing ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Reeds Crossing have been provided by the GNIS.<6> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reeds Crossing
- Reeds Crossing is located in Boone County
- Silver Hills
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Silver Hills have been provided by the GNIS.<6> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver Hills
- Silver Hills is located in Winnebago County
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<7>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<8> 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).<9>
- 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).<10>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,843 miles [7,794.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<11>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Irene. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Boone County: www.boonecountyil.org/
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 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 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 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.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). |
| <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're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <6> | 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. |
| <7> | 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. |
| <8> | 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. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 315.281 degrees. |
| <10> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 312.337 degrees. |
| <11> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 309.116 degrees. |