Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Normal, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Normal and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Normal
- 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 Normal:
- 40.513039, -88.989620
- 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 Normal
- 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 McLean County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for McLean County
- Since Normal is near Woodford County and also Tazewell County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Woodford County
- eBird sighting report for Tazewell 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 Normal ...
We found seven communities that share the name Normal.
Within Illinois, the name Normal is unique.
Beyond Illinois, we know of another seven communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Alabama
- Indiana
- Kentucky
- Boyd County
- This Normal is located in Boyd County and lies 368 miles [592.2 km]<1> to the east southeast of the Normal that is located in McLean County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Boyd County community of Normal.
- Calloway 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 Normal [Calloway County].
- Pennsylvania
- Tennessee
- Virginia
Curious and Interesting Names Near Normal ...
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.
- Burns
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south) - Carlock
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Carlock have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carlock
- Carlock is located in McLean County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 558 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Carlock <4>
- Downs
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Downs have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Downs
- Downs is located in McLean County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 949 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Downs <4>
- Eagle Ridge
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Eagle Ridge have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eagle Ridge
- Eagle Ridge is located in McLean County
- Hedgewood
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east) - Holder
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast) - Randolph
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south) - Shamrock
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast) - Twin Grove
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Twin Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twin Grove
- Twin Grove is located in McLean County
How Far From Normal to ...
We spend a lot of time looking through Gazetteers & Almanacs that were published in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Many of the Gazetteers include the distance from a town such as Normal to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Normal and extending to:
- Bloomington, which is the Seat of McLean County, lies just to the South.
- Springfield, which is the State Capital of Illinois, lies 61 miles [98.2 km]<1> to the southwest (SW). If you could walk a straight line from Normal to Springfield, with an average speed<5> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take most of three days to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take about three full days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 644 miles [1,036.4 km] to the east (E). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take just over a day, a buggy would take 26 days and walking would take 37 days.
- The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,299 miles [10,137.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,036 miles [11,323.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,919 miles [7,916.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Normal: www.normal.org/
The official website for McLean County: www.mclean.gov/
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 drawn from Point A (ie- Normal) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Normal. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 40.5130, Longitude: -88.9896 |
| <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 Rock Creek to see Pete ... Rock Creek 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 Normal 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 Normal 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 315.328 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 312.159 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 309.609 degrees. |