June 23 - 26, 2009
Unknown nm/Unknown sm
Start: Denver, CO
Terminus: Atlantic, IA
Check the weather at each stop along the route
Registration opens in January!
Decatur, IL (KDEC)
Known as The Pride of the Prairie and The Soybean Capital of the World, Decatur is the county seat of Macon County in central Illinois. Among its first residents was the family of Abraham Lincoln, who lived there from 1830 to 1831. The future president tried five cases in a log cabin courthouse downtown – now part of the Macon County Museum Complex – and he was nominated for the White House at the 1860 Illinois Republican Convention, held in a tent known as The Wigwam in the center of town. Other Decatur-area sites relating to the 16th president can be found along the Looking for Lincoln Heritage Trail.
What began as a settlement of four square blocks in 1836 quickly grew to become a major manufacturing center. The first patented fly swatter, slot machine, cattle dehorner and hog ring were all made in Decatur. Decatur was the site of the first corn processing plant and Abraham Lincoln’s first political speech. The Decatur Staleys played football in the city until 1920, when the team moved to Chicago and was renamed the Bears.
Today, Decatur has a population of 84,000 and has been ranked No.1 out of 94 best small metropolitan places to live by Forbes magazine. The city is home to Caterpillar, Tate & Lyle North America and the world headquarters of agribusiness giant ADM. Its restored downtown area features quaint shops, art galleries and a variety of restaurants. Among other unique features are the Transfer House, an early 20th century Victorian structure originally located where the city's original street car lines met in the center of town, and a 150-year-old community band.
Four miles east is Decatur Airport, a Class D field, elevation 682, pattern altitude 1,479. The airport has three runways: 6-24, 8,496 x 150 feet, asphalt/concrete; 12-30, 6,799 x 150 feet, asphalt/concrete, and 18-36 5,299 x 150 feet, asphalt. Great Lakes Aviation provides scheduled service twice a day to St. Louis and back. The Decatur FBO, 217-423-9903, serves generation aviation at the field.
Greater Decatur Chamber of Commerce
http://www.decaturchamber.com/
FBOs
http://www.decatur-airport.org/fac_avia.php
The Decatur Transfer House http://www-sal.cs.uiuc.edu/~friedman/decatur/Decatur.htm
What began as a settlement of four square blocks in 1836 quickly grew to become a major manufacturing center. The first patented fly swatter, slot machine, cattle dehorner and hog ring were all made in Decatur. Decatur was the site of the first corn processing plant and Abraham Lincoln’s first political speech. The Decatur Staleys played football in the city until 1920, when the team moved to Chicago and was renamed the Bears.
Today, Decatur has a population of 84,000 and has been ranked No.1 out of 94 best small metropolitan places to live by Forbes magazine. The city is home to Caterpillar, Tate & Lyle North America and the world headquarters of agribusiness giant ADM. Its restored downtown area features quaint shops, art galleries and a variety of restaurants. Among other unique features are the Transfer House, an early 20th century Victorian structure originally located where the city's original street car lines met in the center of town, and a 150-year-old community band.
Four miles east is Decatur Airport, a Class D field, elevation 682, pattern altitude 1,479. The airport has three runways: 6-24, 8,496 x 150 feet, asphalt/concrete; 12-30, 6,799 x 150 feet, asphalt/concrete, and 18-36 5,299 x 150 feet, asphalt. Great Lakes Aviation provides scheduled service twice a day to St. Louis and back. The Decatur FBO, 217-423-9903, serves generation aviation at the field.
Greater Decatur Chamber of Commerce
http://www.decaturchamber.com/
FBOs
http://www.decatur-airport.org/fac_avia.php
The Decatur Transfer House http://www-sal.cs.uiuc.edu/~friedman/decatur/Decatur.htm