Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Minooka, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Minooka and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Minooka
- 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 Minooka:
- 41.449851, -88.278404
- 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 Minooka
- 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 Grundy County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Grundy County
- Since Minooka is near Will County and also Kendall County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Will County
- eBird sighting report for Kendall 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 Minooka ...
We found two communities that share the name Minooka.
Within Illinois, the name Minooka is unique.
Beyond Illinois, we know of another two communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Alabama
- Pennsylvania
Curious and Interesting Names Near Minooka ...
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.
- Birds
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast) - Divine
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south) - Hunt Club
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast) - Oak Lane
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast) - Rock Run Park
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rock Run Park have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock Run Park
- Rock Run Park is located in Will County
- Sand Ridge
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sand Ridge have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sand Ridge
- Sand Ridge is located in Grundy County
- Sunset Hills
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sunset Hills have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunset Hills
- Sunset Hills is located in Will County
- Vintage
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast) - White Willow ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for White Willow have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Willow
- White Willow is located in Kendall County
How Far From Minooka 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 Minooka to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Minooka and extending to:
- Morris, which is the Seat of Grundy County, lies 9 miles [14.5 km]<1> to the west southwest. If you could walk a straight line from Minooka to Morris, 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 135 miles [217.3 km] to the south southwest (SSW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than three hours, a buggy would take 6 days and walking would take 8 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 618 miles [994.6 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving would take just over a day, a buggy would take 25 days and walking would take 36 days.
- The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,227 miles [10,021.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,965 miles [11,209.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,849 miles [7,803.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Minooka: www.village.minooka.com/
The official website for Grundy County: www.grundyco.org/
The official website for State of Illinois: https://illinois.gov
Footnotes ...
| <1> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Minooka) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Minooka. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 41.4499, Longitude: -88.2784 In this case, the coordinates for Minooka have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <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 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. |
| <4> | 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 Minooka to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <5> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 314.865 degrees. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 311.76 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 309.008 degrees. |