RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Illinois >> Whiteside County >> Penrose >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

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

  • 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 Penrose:
    • 41.887274, -89.668156
    • 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 Penrose
  • 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 Whiteside County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Whiteside County
    • Since Penrose is near Lee County and also Carroll County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Lee County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Carroll 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 Penrose

Communities Also Named Penrose ...

We found seven communities that are also named Penrose.

Within Illinois, the name Penrose is unique.

Beyond Illinois, we know of seven communities that are located in the United States.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Arkansas
      • Woodruff County
      • This Penrose is located in Woodruff County and lies 468 miles [753.2 km]<1> to the south of the Penrose that is located in Whiteside County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Woodruff County community of Penrose.
    • California
      • Ventura County
      • This community is historic<2> and although located in Ventura County, we don't know where within the county.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Ventura County community of Penrose.
    • Colorado
      • Fremont County
      • This Penrose is located in Fremont County and lies 843 miles [1,356.7 km]<1> to the west of the Penrose that is located in Whiteside County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Fremont County community of Penrose.
    • Missouri
      • Saint Louis County
      • This Penrose is located in Saint Louis County and lies 223 miles [358.9 km]<1> to the south of the Penrose that is located in Whiteside County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Saint Louis County community of Penrose.
    • New Mexico
      • Grant County
      • This community is historic<2> and although located in Grant County, we don't know where within the county.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Grant County community of Penrose.
    • North Carolina
      • Transylvania County
      • This Penrose is located in Transylvania County and lies 593 miles [954.3 km]<1> to the southeast of the Penrose that is located in Whiteside County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Transylvania County community of Penrose.
    • Utah
      • Box Elder County
      • This Penrose is located in Box Elder County and lies 1,162 miles [1,870.1 km]<1> to the west of the Penrose that is located in Whiteside County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Box Elder County community of Penrose.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Penrose ...

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.

How Far From Penrose 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 Penrose to various places of note, such as the White House.

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Penrose and extending to:

  • Morrison, which is the Seat of Whiteside County, lies 16 miles [25.7 km]<1> to the west southwest. If you could walk a straight line from Penrose to Morrison, with an average speed<4> 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 five to six hours.
  • Springfield, which is the State Capital of Illinois, lies 145 miles [233.4 km] to the south (S). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than three hours, a buggy would take 6 days and walking would take 9 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 694 miles [1,116.9 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving would take just about two full days, a buggy would take 28 days and walking would take 40 days.
  • The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,256 miles [10,068.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,998 miles [11,262.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,885 miles [7,861.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>'

Footnotes ...

<1>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or 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- Penrose) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<2>We use the term 'Historic' broadly and it generally means that the community no longer exists. However, it can also mean that the community might still exist, but was significantly larger or had a more 'official' existence in the past than it does now. Unfortunately our sources of data have proven to be unreliable. If you can provide us with more specific information about Penrose, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<3>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<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 Penrose to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Penrose. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 41.8873, Longitude: -89.6682    
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 315.796 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 312.885 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 309.579 degrees.