Outdoor Activities ...

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

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

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

• 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 Oak Openings:
  • 41.933083, -88.464524
  • 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 Oak Openings

• 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 Kane County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
  • Open the eBird sighting report for Kane County
  • Since Oak Openings is near DeKalb County and also DuPage County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
  • Open the eBird sighting report for DeKalb County
  • Open the eBird sighting report for DuPage 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 Oak Openings

Curious and Interesting Names Near Oak Openings ...

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.

• Burning Tree
  (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Burning Tree is located in Kane County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burning Tree
• Deer Run
  (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Deer Run is located in Kane County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deer Run
• Empire Hills
  (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Empire Hills is located in Kane County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Empire Hills
• Fair Oaks
  (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Fair Oaks is located in Kane County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fair Oaks
• Far View
  (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Far View is located in Kane County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Far View
• Foxfield
  (Less than 2 miles to the east)
  • Foxfield is located in Kane County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Foxfield
• Hedgerow
  (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Hedgerow is located in Kane County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hedgerow
• High Point
  (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
  • High Point is located in Kane County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for High Point
• Indian Creek
  (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
  • Indian Creek is located in Kane County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Creek
• Kings Mill
  (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Kings Mill is located in Kane County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kings Mill
• Mary Meadows
  (Less than 2 miles to the east)
  • Mary Meadows is located in Kane County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mary Meadows
• Native Prairie
  (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Native Prairie is located in Kane County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Native Prairie
• Still Meadows
  (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Still Meadows is located in Kane County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Still Meadows

How Far From Oak Openings 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 community such as Oak Openings to various places of note, such as the White House.

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<1> beginning in Oak Openings and extending to:

• Geneva, which is the Seat of Kane County, lies just to the East Southeast.
• Springfield, which is the State Capital of Illinois, lies 160 miles [257.5 km]<1> to the south southwest (SSW). If you could drive a straight line from Oak Openings to Springfield, with an average speed<2>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take less than three hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 9 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 7 days.
• The White House (Washington, DC) is 635 miles [1,021.9 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<3> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,210 miles [9,994 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<4>
• The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,950 miles [11,184.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
• The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,835 miles [7,781.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>'