Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Oblong, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Oblong and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Oblong
- 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 Oblong:
- 39.001869, -87.908929
- 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 Oblong
- 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 Crawford County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Crawford County
- Since Oblong is near Jasper County and also Lawrence County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Jasper County
- eBird sighting report for Lawrence 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 Oblong ...
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.
- Advance
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest) - Boos
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest) - Gordon
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gordon
- Gordon is located in Crawford County
- Hunt City
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hunt City
- Hunt City is located in Jasper County
- Moonshine
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north) - Oil Center
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oil Center
- Oil Center is located in Crawford County
- Point Pleasant
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Point Pleasant have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Point Pleasant
- Point Pleasant is located in Jasper County
- Porterville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Porterville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Porterville
- Porterville is located in Crawford County
- Stringtown
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Stringtown have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stringtown
- Stringtown is located in Richland County
- Trimble
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east) - Willow Hill
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Willow Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willow Hill
- Willow Hill is located in Jasper County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 224 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Willow Hill <2>
How Far From Oblong to ...
We spend a lot of time looking through Gazetteers, Almanacs & Directories that were published in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Many of the Gazetteers include the distance from a village such as Oblong to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<3> beginning in Oblong and extending to:
- Robinson, which is the Seat of Crawford County, lies 9 miles [14.5 km]<3> to the east. If you could walk a straight line from Oblong to Robinson, with an average speed<4> 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 107 miles [172.2 km] to the west northwest (WNW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than two hours, a buggy would take 5 days and walking would take 6 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 583 miles [938.2 km] to the east (E). Driving would take just over a day, a buggy would take 23 days and walking would take 34 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,332 miles [10,190.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,063 miles [11,366.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,941 miles [7,951.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Oblong: www.villageofoblong.com/
The official website for State of Illinois: https://illinois.gov
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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. |
| <2> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <3> | 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 drawn from Point A (ie- Oblong) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Oblong. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 39.0019, Longitude: -87.9089 |
| <4> | 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. |
| <5> | 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 Oblong to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 314.594 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 311.107 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 309.488 degrees. |