Outdoor Activities ...

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

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

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

• 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 Old Gilchrist:
  • 41.231146, -90.625136
  • 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 Old Gilchrist

• 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 Mercer County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
  • eBird sighting report for Mercer County
  • Since Old Gilchrist is near Rock Island County and also Henry County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
  • eBird sighting report for Rock Island County
  • eBird sighting report for Henry 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 Old Gilchrist ...

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.

• Cable
  (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cable have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cable
  • Cable is located in Mercer County
• Griffin
  (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Griffin. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Griffin
  • Griffin is located in Mercer County
• Hamlet
  (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hamlet have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hamlet
  • Hamlet is located in Mercer County
• Martin ‑ Historic
  (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Martin have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Martin
  • Martin is located in Mercer County
• Preemption
  (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Preemption have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Preemption
  • Preemption is located in Mercer County
  • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Preemption <3>
• Shale City
  (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shale City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shale City
  • Shale City is located in Mercer County
• Sugar Grove
  (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sugar Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sugar Grove
  • Sugar Grove is located in Mercer County
• Sunbeam
  (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunbeam
  • Sunbeam is located in Mercer County

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

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<4> beginning in Old Gilchrist and extending to:

• Aledo, which is the Seat of Mercer County, lies just to the West Southwest.
• Springfield, which is the State Capital of Illinois, lies 112 miles [180.2 km]<4> to the south southeast (SSE). If you could drive a straight line from Old Gilchrist to Springfield, with an average speed<5>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take about two hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 7 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 5 days.
• The White House (Washington, DC) is 735 miles [1,182.9 km] to the east (E). Driving would take just about two full days, a buggy would take 29 days and walking would take 42 days.
• The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,322 miles [10,174.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
• The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,065 miles [11,370 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
• The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,952 miles [7,969.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>

Off-the-Road Links ...

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Old Gilchrist. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for State of Illinois: https://illinois.gov