Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Joy, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Joy and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Joy
- 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 Joy:
- 41.197638, -90.878706
- 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 Joy
- 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 Mercer County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Mercer County
- Since Joy is near Rock Island County and also Louisa County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Rock Island County
- eBird sighting report for Louisa 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 Joy ...
We found 23 communities that share the name Joy.
Within Illinois, the name Joy is unique.
Beyond Illinois, we know of another 23 communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Alabama
- Arkansas
- Kansas
- Kiowa County
- This Joy is located in Kiowa County and lies 517 miles [832 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Joy that is located in Mercer County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Kiowa County community of Joy.
- Lyon 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 Joy [Lyon County].
- Kentucky
- Livingston County
- This Joy is located in Livingston County and lies 296 miles [476.4 km]<1> to the south southeast of the Joy that is located in Mercer County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Livingston County community of Joy.
- Perry 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 Kentucky community of Joy [Perry County].
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Missouri
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- New York
- North Carolina
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Murray County
- This Joy is located in Murray County and lies 569 miles [915.7 km]<1> to the southwest of the Joy that is located in Mercer County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Murray County community of Joy.
- Oklahoma 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 Oklahoma community of Joy [Oklahoma County].
- Oregon
- South Carolina
- Texas
- Clay County
- This Joy is located in Clay County and lies 662 miles [1,065.4 km]<1> to the southwest of the Joy that is located in Mercer County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Clay County community of Joy.
- Smith 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 Texas community of Joy [Smith County].
- Utah
- Washington
- West Virginia
Curious and Interesting Names Near Joy ...
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.
- Bald Bluff
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bald Bluff have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bald Bluff
- Bald Bluff is located in Henderson County
- Buffalo Prairie
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buffalo Prairie
- Buffalo Prairie is located in Rock Island County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Buffalo Prairie <5>
- Hamlet
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast) - Illinois City
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Illinois City have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Illinois City
- Illinois City is located in Rock Island County
- Keithsburg
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keithsburg
- Keithsburg is located in Mercer County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 569 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Keithsburg <5>
- Martin ‑ Historic
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east) - Petersville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Petersville have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Petersville
- Petersville is located in Mercer County
- Shale City
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shale City have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shale City
- Shale City is located in Mercer County
- Sugar Grove
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sugar Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sugar Grove
- Sugar Grove is located in Mercer County
- Sunbeam
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunbeam
- Sunbeam is located in Mercer County
How Far From Joy to ...
We spend a lot of time looking through Gazetteers that were published in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Many of the Gazetteers include the distance from a village such as Joy to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Joy and extending to:
- Aledo, which is the Seat of Mercer County, lies just to the East.
- Springfield, which is the State Capital of Illinois, lies 117 miles [188.3 km]<1> to the south southeast (SSE). If you could drive a straight line from Joy to Springfield, with an average speed<6>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take about two hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 7 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 5 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 747 miles [1,202.2 km] to the east (E). Driving would take just about two full days, a buggy would take 30 days and walking would take 43 days.
- The shortest distance<7> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,333 miles [10,192 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,076 miles [11,387.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,964 miles [7,988.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<10>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Joy. 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' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Joy) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Joy. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 41.1976, Longitude: -90.8787 |
| <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 Joy 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> | 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 Joy, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | 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. |
| <5> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <6> | 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. |
| <7> | 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 Joy to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 316.602 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 313.713 degrees. |
| <10> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 310.364 degrees. |