Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Wacker, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Wacker and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Wacker
- 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 Wacker:
- 42.05804, -90.048712
- 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 Wacker
- 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 Carroll County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Carroll County
- Since Wacker is near Jackson County and also Clinton County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Jackson County
- eBird sighting report for Clinton 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 Wacker ...
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.
- Arnold
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arnold
- Arnold is located in Carroll County
- Blackhawk
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blackhawk
- Blackhawk is located in Carroll County
- Elk River Junction
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Elk River Junction have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elk River Junction
- Elk River Junction is located in Clinton County (IA)
- Fair Haven
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fair Haven
- Fair Haven is located in Carroll County
- Georgetown
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Georgetown
- Georgetown is located in Carroll County
- Hickory Grove
(Less than 2 miles to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hickory Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hickory Grove
- Hickory Grove is located in Carroll County
- Ideal
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ideal
- Ideal is located in Carroll County
- Marcus
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marcus
- Marcus is located in Carroll County
- Miles
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Miles have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Miles
- Miles is located in Jackson County (IA)
- Population from the 2020 Census: 430 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Miles <2>
- Spring Valley
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Valley
- Spring Valley is located in Whiteside County
- Twin Springs
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Twin Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twin Springs
- Twin Springs is located in Jackson County (IA)
- Ustick
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south) - White Pigeon
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for White Pigeon have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Pigeon
- White Pigeon is located in Whiteside County
How Far From Wacker to ...
We spend a lot of time looking through Gazetteers that were published in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Many of the Gazetteers include the distance from a community such as Wacker to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<3> beginning in Wacker and extending to:
- Mount Carroll, which is the Seat of Carroll County, lies just to the Northeast.
- Springfield, which is the State Capital of Illinois, lies 158 miles [254.3 km]<3> to the south (S). If you could drive a straight line from Wacker to Springfield, with an average speed<4>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take less than three hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 9 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 7 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 716 miles [1,152.3 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving would take just about two full days, a buggy would take 28 days and walking would take 41 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 7,004 miles [11,271.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,893 miles [7,874.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Wacker. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Carroll County: visitcarrollcountyil.com/
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 '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- Wacker) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Wacker. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.0580, Longitude: -90.0487 |
| <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 Wacker 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 316.054 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 313.204 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 309.725 degrees. |