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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 Normal, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Normal 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 Normal:
- 40.465039, -85.825260
- 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 Normal
- 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 Grant County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- Open the eBird sighting report for Grant County
- Since Normal is near Howard County and also Madison County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- Open the eBird sighting report for Howard County
- Open the eBird sighting report for Madison 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 Normal
Communities Also Named Normal ...
We found seven communities that are also named Normal.
Within Indiana, the name Normal is unique.
Beyond Indiana, we know of seven communities that are located in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Alabama
- Madison County
- This Normal is located in Madison County and lies 394 miles [634.1 km]<1> to the south of the Normal that is located in Grant County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Madison County community of Normal.
- Illinois
- McLean County
- This Normal is located in McLean County and lies 166 miles [267.2 km]<1> to the west of the Normal that is located in Grant County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the McLean County community of Normal.
- Kentucky
- Boyd County
- This Normal is located in Boyd County and lies 220 miles [354.1 km]<1> to the southeast of the Normal that is located in Grant County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Boyd County community of Normal.
- Calloway County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<2> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Kentucky community of Normal [Calloway County].
- Pennsylvania
- Carbon County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<2> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Pennsylvania community of Normal [Carbon County].
- Tennessee
- Shelby County
- This Normal is located in Shelby County and lies 432 miles [695.2 km]<1> to the south southwest of the Normal that is located in Grant County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Shelby County community of Normal.
- Virginia
- Rockingham County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<2> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Virginia community of Normal [Rockingham County].
Curious and Interesting Names Near Normal ...
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
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Amboy is located in Miami County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amboy
- Population from the 2020 Census: 353 people
- Converse
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Curtisville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Curtisville is located in Tipton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Curtisville
- Greentown
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Guy
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Guy is located in Howard County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Guy
- Home Corner
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Home Corner is located in Grant County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Home Corner
- Jerome
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Jerome is located in Howard County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jerome
- Leisure
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Leisure is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leisure
- Marion
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Michaelsville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Michaelsville is located in Grant County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Michaelsville
- Nevada
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Nevada is located in Tipton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nevada
- Weaver
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Weaver is located in Grant County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weaver
- Windfall
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Windfall City
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Windfall City is located in Tipton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Windfall City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 793 people
How Far From Normal 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 Normal to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Normal and extending to:
- Marion, which is the Seat of Grant County, lies 10 miles [16.1 km]<1> to the northeast. If you could walk a straight line from Normal to Marion, with an average speed<4> 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.
- Indianapolis, which is the State Capital of Indiana, lies 51 miles [82.1 km] to the south southwest (SSW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than an hour, a buggy would take most of two days and walking would take most of three days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 479 miles [770.9 km] to the east (E). Driving would take most of a day, a buggy would take 19 days and walking would take 28 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,182 miles [9,949 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,913 miles [11,125.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,791 miles [7,710.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>'
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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- Normal) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <2> | 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 Rock Creek to see Pete ... Rock 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 Normal 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. |
| <3> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <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 Normal 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 Normal. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 40.4650, Longitude: -85.8253 In this case, the coordinates for Normal have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 313.262 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 309.79 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 308.107 degrees. |
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