Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Ruby, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Ruby and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Ruby
- 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 Ruby:
- 42.315852, -89.070940
- 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 Ruby
- 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 Winnebago County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Winnebago County
- Since Ruby is near Boone County and also Ogle County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Boone County
- eBird sighting report for Ogle 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 Ruby ...
We found 32 communities that share the name Ruby.
Within Illinois, the name Ruby is unique.
Beyond Illinois, we know of another 32 communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these 32 communities, 31 are located in the United States and one is in Canada.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Alabama
- Cullman County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<1> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Alabama community of Ruby [Cullman County].
- Walker County
- This community is historic<2> and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Alabama community of Ruby [Walker County].
- Alaska
- This Ruby lies 2,947 miles [4,742.7 km]<3> to the northwest of the Ruby that is located in Winnebago County.
- Arizona
- Colorado
- Gunnison County
- This Ruby is located in Gunnison County and lies 972 miles [1,564.3 km]<3> to the west of the Ruby that is located in Winnebago County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Gunnison County community of Ruby.
- Mesa County
- This Ruby is located in Mesa County and lies 1,058 miles [1,702.7 km] to the west of the Ruby that is located in Winnebago County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Mesa County community of Ruby.
- Pitkin County
- This community is historic<2> and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Colorado community of Ruby [Pitkin County].
- Georgia
- Irwin County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<1> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Georgia community of Ruby [Irwin County].
- Jones County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Georgia community of Ruby [Jones County].
- Idaho
- Kansas
- Harper County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<1> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Kansas community of Ruby [Harper County].
- Sedgwick County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Kansas community of Ruby [Sedgwick County].
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Michigan
- Mississippi
- Copiah County
- This Ruby is located in Copiah County and lies 718 miles [1,155.5 km]<3> to the south of the Ruby that is located in Winnebago County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Copiah County community of Ruby.
- Leflore County
- This Ruby is located in Leflore County and lies 598 miles [962.4 km] to the south of the Ruby that is located in Winnebago County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Leflore County community of Ruby.
- Montana
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- New York
- North Dakota
- Ohio
- Ontario
- This Ruby lies 624 miles [1,004.2 km]<3> to the east northeast of the Ruby that is located in Winnebago County.
- Oregon
- South Carolina
- Virginia
- Washington
- Benton County
- This Ruby is located in Benton County and lies 1,508 miles [2,426.9 km]<3> to the west northwest of the Ruby that is located in Winnebago County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Benton County community of Ruby.
- Okanogan County
- This community is historic<2> and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Washington community of Ruby [Okanogan County].
- Pend Oreille County
- This Ruby is located in Pend Oreille County and lies 1,424 miles [2,291.7 km] to the west northwest of the Ruby that is located in Winnebago County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Pend Oreille County community of Ruby.
- Whatcom County
- This community is historic and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Washington community of Ruby [Whatcom County].
- Wisconsin
- Alabama
Curious and Interesting Names Near Ruby ...
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.
- Argyle
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast) - Cherry Valley
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cherry Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherry Valley
- Cherry Valley is located in Winnebago County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,853 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cherry Valley <5>
- Cheyenne Heights
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cheyenne Heights have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cheyenne Heights
- Cheyenne Heights is located in Winnebago County
- Coreys Bluff
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Coreys Bluff have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coreys Bluff
- Coreys Bluff is located in Winnebago County
- Coventry Creek
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Coventry Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coventry Creek
- Coventry Creek is located in Winnebago County
- Harlem
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast) - Hickory Creek
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hickory Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hickory Creek
- Hickory Creek is located in Winnebago County
- Indian Village
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Indian Village have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Village
- Indian Village is located in Winnebago County
- Jonesville
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Jonesville have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jonesville
- Jonesville is located in Winnebago County
- Loves Park
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Loves Park have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loves Park
- Loves Park is located in Winnebago County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 23,382 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Loves Park <5>
- Morehaven
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north) - Panorama Valley
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Panorama Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Panorama Valley
- Panorama Valley is located in Winnebago County
- Silver Hills
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Silver Hills have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver Hills
- Silver Hills is located in Winnebago County
- Stagecoach Hills
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Stagecoach Hills have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stagecoach Hills
- Stagecoach Hills is located in Winnebago County
How Far From Ruby to ...
We spend a lot of time looking through Gazetteers that were published in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Many of the Gazetteers include the distance from a community such as Ruby to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Ruby and extending to:
- Rockford, which is the Seat of Winnebago County, lies just to the South Southwest.
- Springfield, which is the State Capital of Illinois, lies 177 miles [284.9 km]<3> to the south (S). If you could drive a straight line from Ruby to Springfield, with an average speed<6>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take a little over three hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 10 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 7 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 672 miles [1,081.5 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving would take just about two full days, a buggy would take 27 days and walking would take 39 days.
- The shortest distance<7> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,213 miles [9,998.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,956 miles [11,194.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,843 miles [7,794.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<10>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Ruby. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Winnebago County: www.co.winnebago.il.us/
The official website for State of Illinois: https://illinois.gov
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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 Ruby 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. |
| <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 Ruby, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <3> | 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 from Point A (ie- Ruby) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Ruby. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.3159, Longitude: -89.0709 In this case, the coordinates for Ruby have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <4> | 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. |
| <5> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <6> | 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. |
| <7> | 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 Ruby to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 315.396 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 312.488 degrees. |
| <10> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 309.161 degrees. |