Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Sims, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Sims and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Sims
- 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 Sims:
- 38.361501, -88.535343
- 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 Sims
- 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 Wayne County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Wayne County
- Since Sims is near Hamilton County and also Jefferson County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Hamilton County
- eBird sighting report for Jefferson 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 Sims ...
We found fifteen communities that share the name Sims.
Within Illinois, the name Sims is unique.
Beyond Illinois, we know of another fifteen communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these fifteen communities, fourteen are located in the United States and one is in Canada.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Arkansas
- Mississippi County
- This community is historic<1> and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Arkansas community of Sims [Mississippi County].
- Montgomery County
- This Sims is located in Montgomery County and lies 383 miles [616.4 km]<2> to the southwest of the Sims that is located in Wayne County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Montgomery County community of Sims.
- California
- Georgia
- Indiana
- Bartholomew County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<3> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Indiana community of Sims [Bartholomew County].
- Grant County
- This Sims is located in Grant County and lies 205 miles [329.9 km]<2> to the northeast of the Sims that is located in Wayne County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Grant County community of Sims.
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- North Carolina
- North Dakota
- Ontario
- This Sims lies 748 miles [1,203.8 km]<2> to the north northwest of the Sims that is located in Wayne County.
- South Carolina
- Tennessee
- Texas
- West Virginia
- Arkansas
Curious and Interesting Names Near Sims ...
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.
- Crisp
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest) - Enterprise
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Enterprise have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Enterprise
- Enterprise is located in Wayne County
- Greathouse Ford
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Greathouse Ford have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greathouse Ford
- Greathouse Ford is located in Wayne County
- Harmony
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west) - Helm
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest) - Hickory Hill
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hickory Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hickory Hill
- Hickory Hill is located in Marion County
- Lynchburg ‑ Historic
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west) - Mayberry
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south) - Orchardville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Orchardville have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orchardville
- Orchardville is located in Wayne County
- Pigeon ‑ Historic
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west) - Round Prairie
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Round Prairie have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Round Prairie
- Round Prairie is located in Wayne County
- Shields
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
How Far From Sims to ...
We spend a lot of time looking through Gazetteers & Almanacs that were published in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Many of the Gazetteers include the distance from a village such as Sims to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Sims and extending to:
- Fairfield, which is the Seat of Wayne County, lies 9 miles [14.5 km]<2> to the east. If you could walk a straight line from Sims to Fairfield, with an average speed<5> 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 114 miles [183.5 km] to the north northwest (NNW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take about two hours, a buggy would take 5 days and walking would take 7 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 620 miles [997.8 km] to the east (E). Driving would take just over a day, a buggy would take 25 days and walking would take 36 days.
- The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,387 miles [10,278.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,117 miles [11,453.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,995 miles [8,038.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Sims. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for State of Illinois: https://illinois.gov
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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 Sims, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <2> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a '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- Sims) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Sims. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 38.3615, Longitude: -88.5353 In this case, the coordinates for Sims have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <3> | 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 Sims 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. |
| <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 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. |
| <6> | 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 Sims to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 314.982 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 311.463 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 309.938 degrees. |