Outdoor Activities ...

As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).

When in Rookins, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Rookins and the surrounding area.

• Weather ...
  • Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
  • The National Weather Service forecast for Rookins

• 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 Rookins:
  • 37.838924, -93.757432
  • 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 Rookins

• 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 Saint Clair County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
  • Open the eBird sighting report for Saint Clair County
  • Since Rookins is near Cedar County and also Polk County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
  • Open the eBird sighting report for Cedar County
  • Open the eBird sighting report for Polk 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 Rookins

Curious and Interesting Names Near Rookins ...

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.

• Birdsong
  (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Birdsong is located in Saint Clair County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Birdsong
• Blackjack
  (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Blackjack is located in Saint Clair County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blackjack
• Cedar Springs
  (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  • Cedar Springs is located in Cedar County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Springs
• Coal Hill
  (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
  • Coal Hill is located in Cedar County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coal Hill
• Crooks Springs
  (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Crooks Springs is located in Saint Clair County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crooks Springs
• Ebb ‑ Historic
  (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Ebb is located in Saint Clair County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ebb
• Graceland
  (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Graceland is located in Cedar County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Graceland
• Hamlet
  (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Hamlet is located in Cedar County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hamlet
• Hardyville
  (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  • Hardyville is located in Saint Clair County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hardyville
• Ivy
  (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Ivy is located in Cedar County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ivy
• Story ‑ Historic
  (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
  • Story is located in Saint Clair County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Story
• Topper
  (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Topper is located in Saint Clair County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Topper

How Far From Rookins 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 Rookins to various places of note, such as the White House.

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<1> beginning in Rookins and extending to:

• Osceola, which is the Seat of Saint Clair County, lies 14 miles [22.5 km]<1> to the north northeast. If you could walk a straight line from Rookins to Osceola, with an average speed<2> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take most of a day to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take four to five hours.
• Jefferson City, which is the State Capital of Missouri, lies 99 miles [159.3 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than two hours, a buggy would take three full days and walking would take 6 days.
• The White House (Washington, DC) is 906 miles [1,458.1 km] to the east (E). Driving would take most of two days, a buggy would take 36 days and walking would take 52 days.
• The shortest distance<3> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,608 miles [10,634.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<4>
• The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,348 miles [11,825.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
• The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,232 miles [8,420.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>'