Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Modesto, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Modesto and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Modesto
- 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 Modesto:
- 39.478863, -89.980331
- 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 Modesto
- 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 Macoupin County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Macoupin County
- Since Modesto is near Morgan County and also Sangamon County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Morgan County
- eBird sighting report for Sangamon 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 Modesto ...
We found three communities that share the name Modesto.
Within Illinois, the name Modesto is unique.
Beyond Illinois, we know of another three communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- California
- Georgia
- Indiana
Curious and Interesting Names Near Modesto ...
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.
- Centerville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Centerville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centerville
- Centerville is located in Morgan County
- Franklin
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Franklin have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Franklin
- Franklin is located in Morgan County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 591 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Franklin <4>
- Greenridge
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Greenridge have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenridge
- Greenridge is located in Macoupin County
- Lemmon ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east) - Maxwell ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north) - Reader
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south) - Standard City
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Standard City
- Standard City is located in Macoupin County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 144 people
- Tower Heights
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tower Heights have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tower Heights
- Tower Heights is located in Sangamon County
- Yeomans
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
How Far From Modesto 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 Modesto to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Modesto and extending to:
- Carlinville, which is the Seat of Macoupin County, lies 14 miles [22.5 km]<1> to the south southeast. If you could walk a straight line from Modesto to Carlinville, with an average speed<5> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take most of a day to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take four to five hours.
- Springfield, which is the State Capital of Illinois, lies 27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast (NE). The buggy would take just over a day and walking would take just about two full days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 693 miles [1,115.3 km] to the east (E). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take just about two full days, a buggy would take 27 days and walking would take 40 days.
- The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,386 miles [10,277.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,123 miles [11,463.4 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 Modesto. 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 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Modesto) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Modesto. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 39.4789, Longitude: -89.9803 In this case, the coordinates for Modesto have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <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 Modesto 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> | 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. |
| <4> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <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 Modesto 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 315.959 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 312.74 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 310.345 degrees. |