Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Vanland, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Vanland and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Vanland
- 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 Vanland:
- 42.143357, -88.965655
- 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 Vanland
- 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 Ogle County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Ogle County
- Since Vanland is near DeKalb County and also Winnebago County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for DeKalb County
- eBird sighting report for Winnebago 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 Vanland ...
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
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Cherry Valley. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
- 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 <2>
- Cheyenne Heights
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cheyenne Heights have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cheyenne Heights
- Cheyenne Heights is located in Winnebago County
- Coreys Bluff
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Coreys Bluff have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coreys Bluff
- Coreys Bluff is located in Winnebago County
- Coventry Creek
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Coventry Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coventry Creek
- Coventry Creek is located in Winnebago County
- Herbert
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east) - Indian Village
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Indian Village have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Village
- Indian Village is located in Winnebago County
- Irene
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast) - Motor Heights
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Motor Heights have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Motor Heights
- Motor Heights is located in Winnebago County
- Panorama Valley
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Panorama Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Panorama Valley
- Panorama Valley is located in Winnebago County
- Prairie View
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Prairie View have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairie View
- Prairie View is located in Boone County
- Reeds Crossing ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Reeds Crossing have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reeds Crossing
- Reeds Crossing is located in Boone County
- Silver Hills
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Silver Hills have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver Hills
- Silver Hills is located in Winnebago County
How Far From Vanland 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 Vanland to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers and using the location of where the historic<4> community of Vanland once stood, the straight-line distance<5> beginning in Vanland and extending to:
- Oregon, which is the Seat of Ogle County, lies 20 miles [32.2 km]<5> to the west southwest. If you could walk a straight line from Vanland to Oregon, with an average speed<6> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take just over a day to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take most of a day.
- Springfield, which is the State Capital of Illinois, lies 166 miles [267.2 km] to the south southwest (SSW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take about three hours, a buggy would take 7 days and walking would take 10 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 664 miles [1,068.6 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<7> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,218 miles [10,006.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,960 miles [11,201 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,846 miles [7,798.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<10>
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Ogle County: www.oglecounty.org/
The official website for State of Illinois: https://illinois.gov
Footnotes ...
| <1> | An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace. |
| <2> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <3> | 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. |
| <4> | 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 Vanland, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <5> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Vanland) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Vanland. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.1434, Longitude: -88.9657 In this case, the coordinates for Vanland have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <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 Vanland 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 315.325 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 312.383 degrees. |
| <10> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 309.156 degrees. |