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.
- 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:
- 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:
- eBird sighting report for Jefferson 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
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) - Camp Ground
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Camp Ground have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Camp Ground
- Camp Ground is located in Jefferson County
- Divide
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast) - Foxville
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast) - Harmony
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast) - Helm
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east) - Hickory Hill
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hickory Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hickory Hill
- Hickory Hill is located in Marion County
- Pigeon ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast) - Shields
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east) - Summersville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summersville
- Summersville is located in Jefferson County
- Union Town
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Union Town have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union Town
- Union Town is located in Marion County
- Walnut Hill
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walnut Hill
- Walnut Hill is located in Marion County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 101 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Walnut Hill <3>
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<4> beginning in Kell and extending to:
- Salem, which is the Seat of Marion County, lies 9 miles [14.5 km]<4> to the north northwest. If you could walk a straight line from Kell to Salem, with an average speed<5> 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<6> 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).<7>
- 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).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,005 miles [8,054.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Kell. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for State of Illinois: https://illinois.gov
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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. |
| <2> | 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. |
| <3> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <4> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Kell) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Kell. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 38.4913, Longitude: -88.9033 In this case, the coordinates for Kell have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <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 Kell 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 315.224 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 311.759 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 310.076 degrees. |