Outdoor Activities ...

As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).

When in Kell, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Kell and the surrounding area.

• Weather ...
  • Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
  • The National Weather Service forecast for Kell

• 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 Kell:
  • 38.491308, -88.903290
  • 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 Kell

• 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 Marion County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
  • Open the eBird sighting report for Marion County
  • Since Kell is near Jefferson County and also Clinton County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
  • Open the eBird sighting report for Jefferson County
  • Open the 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:
  • Open the Waymark.com report for Kell

Curious and Interesting Names Near Kell ...

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.

• Bannister
  (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
  • Bannister is located in Marion County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bannister
• Camp Ground
  (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
  • Camp Ground is located in Jefferson County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Camp Ground
• Divide
  (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Divide is located in Jefferson County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Divide
• Foxville
  (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Foxville is located in Marion County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Foxville
• Harmony
  (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Harmony is located in Jefferson County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harmony
• Helm
  (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
  • Helm is located in Marion County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Helm
• Hickory Hill
  (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
  • Hickory Hill is located in Marion County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hickory Hill
• Pigeon ‑ Historic
  (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Pigeon is located in Jefferson County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pigeon
• Shields
  (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
  • Shields is located in Jefferson County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shields
• Summersville
  (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
  • Summersville is located in Jefferson County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summersville
• Union Town
  (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
  • Union Town is located in Marion County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union Town
• Walnut Hill
  (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  • Walnut Hill is located in Marion County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walnut Hill
  • Population from the 2020 Census: 101 people
  • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Walnut Hill <1>

How Far From Kell 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 Kell to various places of note, such as the White House.

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<2> beginning in Kell and extending to:

• Salem, which is the Seat of Marion County, lies 9 miles [14.5 km]<2> to the north northwest. If you could walk a straight line from Kell to Salem, with an average speed<3> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take four to five hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take a little over three hours.
• Springfield, which is the State Capital of Illinois, lies 97 miles [156.1 km] to the north northwest (NNW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than two hours, a buggy would take three full days and walking would take 6 days.
• The White House (Washington, DC) is 639 miles [1,028.4 km] to the east (E). Driving would take just over a day, a buggy would take 25 days and walking would take 37 days.
• The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,395 miles [10,291.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
• The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,126 miles [11,468.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
• The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,005 miles [8,054.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>'