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Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Thorne Ledge, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Thorne Ledge 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 Thorne Ledge:
- 42.191689, -88.994546
- 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 Thorne Ledge
- 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:
- Open the eBird sighting report for Winnebago County
- Since Thorne Ledge is near Ogle County and also Boone County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- Open the eBird sighting report for Ogle County
- Open the eBird sighting report for Boone 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 Thorne Ledge
Curious and Interesting Names Near Thorne Ledge ...
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.
- Cherry Valley
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Cheyenne Heights
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Cheyenne Heights is located in Winnebago County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cheyenne Heights
- Coreys Bluff
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Coreys Bluff is located in Winnebago County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coreys Bluff
- Coventry Creek
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Coventry Creek is located in Winnebago County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coventry Creek
- Indian Village
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Indian Village is located in Winnebago County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Village
- Irene
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Irene is located in Boone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Irene
- Motor Heights
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Motor Heights is located in Winnebago County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Motor Heights
- Panorama Valley
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Panorama Valley is located in Winnebago County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Panorama Valley
- Prairie View
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Prairie View is located in Boone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairie View
- Silver Hills
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Silver Hills is located in Winnebago County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver Hills
How Far From Thorne Ledge 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 Thorne Ledge to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<2> beginning in Thorne Ledge and extending to:
- Rockford, which is the Seat of Winnebago County, lies just to the Northwest.
- Springfield, which is the State Capital of Illinois, lies 169 miles [272 km]<2> to the south southwest (SSW). If you could drive a straight line from Thorne Ledge to Springfield, with an average speed<3>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take about 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 666 miles [1,071.8 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving would take just about two full days, a buggy would take 26 days and walking would take 38 days.
- The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,216 miles [10,003.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,958 miles [11,197.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,845 miles [7,797.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>'
Footnotes ...
| <1> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <2> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Thorne Ledge) 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 Thorne Ledge 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 Thorne Ledge. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.1917, Longitude: -88.9945 In this case, the coordinates for Thorne Ledge have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <5> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 315.344 degrees. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 312.412 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 309.157 degrees. |
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