RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Illinois >> Will County >> Saddle Creek >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

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

  • Weather ...
  • 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 Saddle Creek:
    • 41.686111, -88.195556
    • 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 Saddle Creek
  • 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 Will County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Will County
    • Since Saddle Creek is near Kendall County and also DuPage County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Kendall 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 Saddle Creek

Communities Also Named Saddle Creek ...

We found five communities that are also named Saddle Creek.

Within Illinois, the name Saddle Creek is unique.

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

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Florida
      • Polk 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 Florida community of Saddle Creek [Polk County].
    • Indiana
      • Hamilton County
      • This Saddle Creek is located in Hamilton County and lies 157 miles [252.7 km]<2> to the southeast of the Saddle Creek that is located in Will County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Hamilton County community of Saddle Creek.
    • Maryland
      • Montgomery County
      • This Saddle Creek is located in Montgomery County and lies 618 miles [994.6 km]<2> to the east southeast of the Saddle Creek that is located in Will County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Montgomery County community of Saddle Creek.
    • Nebraska
      • Douglas 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 Nebraska community of Saddle Creek [Douglas County].
    • South Dakota
      • Lincoln 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 South Dakota community of Saddle Creek [Lincoln County].

Curious and Interesting Names Near Saddle Creek ...

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.

  • Champion Creek
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
    • Champion Creek is located in Will County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Champion Creek
  • Cider Creek
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Cider Creek is located in Will County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cider Creek
  • Crossing
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Crossing is located in Will County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crossing
  • Heatherstone
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Heatherstone is located in Will County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heatherstone
  • Heritage Knolls
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Heritage Knolls is located in Will County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heritage Knolls
  • Heritage Meadows
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Heritage Meadows is located in Will County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heritage Meadows
  • Hickory Oaks
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Hickory Oaks is located in Will County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hickory Oaks
  • High Meadow
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
    • High Meadow is located in Will County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for High Meadow
  • Hunters Ridge
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Hunters Ridge is located in Will County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hunters Ridge
  • Indian Boundary
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Indian Boundary is located in Will County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Boundary
  • Normantown
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Normantown is located in Will County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Normantown
  • Old Sawmill
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Old Sawmill is located in Will County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Sawmill
  • Continue List   (12 more) ...
    • Pepper Tree
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
      • Pepper Tree is located in Will County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pepper Tree
    • Pheasant Chase
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
      • Pheasant Chase is located in Will County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pheasant Chase
    • Plantation
      (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
      • Plantation is located in Will County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plantation
    • Prairie Ridge
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Prairie Ridge is located in Will County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairie Ridge
    • Quail Run
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
      • Quail Run is located in Will County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quail Run
    • Riverbend
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
      • Riverbend is located in Will County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverbend
    • Rivermist
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Rivermist is located in Will County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rivermist
    • Stillwater
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
      • Stillwater is located in Will County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stillwater
    • Wheatland Highlands
      (Less than 2 miles to the west)
      • Wheatland Highlands is located in Will County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wheatland Highlands
    • Wheatland View
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
      • Wheatland View is located in Will County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wheatland View
    • Wolf Creek Island
      (Less than 2 miles to the south)
      • Wolf Creek Island is located in Will County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wolf Creek Island
    • Woodlake
      (Less than 2 miles to the north)
      • Woodlake is located in Will County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodlake

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

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

  • Joliet, which is the Seat of Will County, lies 12 miles [19.3 km]<2> to the south southeast. If you could walk a straight line from Saddle Creek to Joliet, with an average speed<3> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take five to six hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take nearly four hours.
  • Springfield, which is the State Capital of Illinois, lies 151 miles [243 km] to the south southwest (SSW). 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 617 miles [993 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving would take just over a day, a buggy would take 25 days and walking would take 35 days.
  • The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,212 miles [9,997.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,951 miles [11,186.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,835 miles [7,781.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>'

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 Bird Creek to see Pete ... Bird 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 Saddle Creek 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>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 from Point A (ie- Saddle Creek) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<3>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.
<4>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 Saddle Creek 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 Saddle Creek. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 41.6861, Longitude: -88.1956       In this case, the coordinates for Saddle Creek have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 314.81 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 311.731 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 308.90 degrees.