Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Van Orin, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Van Orin and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Van Orin
- 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 Van Orin:
- 41.550034, -89.353424
- 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 Van Orin
- 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 Bureau County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Bureau County
- Since Van Orin is near Lee County and also La Salle County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Lee County
- eBird sighting report for La Salle 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
Curious and Interesting Names Near Van Orin ...
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.
- Amboy
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Amboy have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amboy
- Amboy is located in Lee County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,287 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Amboy <2>
- Cherry
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cherry have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherry
- Cherry is located in Bureau County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 448 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cherry <2>
- Coal Hollow
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Coal Hollow have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coal Hollow
- Coal Hollow is located in Bureau County
- Dover
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dover have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dover
- Dover is located in Bureau County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 151 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Dover <2>
- Greenoak
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest) - Limerick
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest) - Maytown
(5 miles [8 km] to the north) - Ohio
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ohio have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ohio
- Ohio is located in Bureau County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 475 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ohio <2>
- Peterstown
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Peterstown have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peterstown
- Peterstown is located in La Salle County
- Sublette
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sublette have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sublette
- Sublette is located in Lee County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 415 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sublette <2>
- Walnut
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walnut
- Walnut is located in Bureau County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,296 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Walnut <2>
How Far From Van Orin 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 Van Orin to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<3> beginning in Van Orin and extending to:
- Princeton, which is the Seat of Bureau County, lies 13 miles [20.9 km]<3> to the south southwest. If you could walk a straight line from Van Orin to Princeton, with an average speed<4> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take 6 hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take four to five hours.
- Springfield, which is the State Capital of Illinois, lies 123 miles [197.9 km] to the south (S). 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 674 miles [1,084.7 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<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,261 miles [10,076.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,002 miles [11,268.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,888 miles [7,866.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Van Orin. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for State of Illinois: https://illinois.gov
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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. |
| <2> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <3> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Van Orin) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Van Orin. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 41.5500, Longitude: -89.3534 In this case, the coordinates for Van Orin have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <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 Van Orin to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 315.582 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 312.594 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 309.512 degrees. |