My blog post this week is about taking my Countryman up Mt. Washington on one of the clearest days in August.

It also includes logistical info and a couple of driving tips so you don't overheat your engine or wreck your brakes, as well as a GPS track of the road so you can see it from a bird's eye view.

I thought it might be helpful for anybody who's considering doing any foliage driving in New Hampshire this fall. A nice clear day in the right part of the foliage season might be absolutely incredible. Most important: get there early!

 

I'm gonna guess that this is not the same Mount Washington that I've ascended many times in Pittsburgh?

 

Ha! No. I guess I should have specified NH.

 

Either way - both have incredible views. Just very different from each other.

 

Each June, about 450 people and 250 MINIs gather at the base of Mt. Washington (NH) for a huge BBQ, door prizes and other festivities. Then, about 7:00 pm, the Auto Road Staff close the road to the public and about 200 MINIs ascend to the 6,288 ft summit to watch the sun set. This event is called MINIs on Top and you are all invited to celebrate it's 10th anniversary on June 23, 2012 in the beautiful White Mountains of New Hampshire. We've had attendees from as far away as South Dakota and Wyoming. Click my sig pic to go to the MINIS on Top website for more information.

Meanwhile, here's a Facebook video of the MINIs ascending the Auto Road:

http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=2151309180824



And here is a video documenting this past year's event (can you spot Jim McDowell, head of MINIUSA?):

 

Oh look, it's Bob! MOT is a blast. Wish I could have gone last year. Highly recommend if you are new to the MINI scene.

 

I wish I could have gone to MOT this year, but it was not feasible, schedule-wise, and it was such a hectic time of year that I don't think it really registered in my brain. I had to settle for a solo trip later on. Now that I've been sucked into the MINI madness, I'm definitely on the lookout for MINI events I can fit into my schedule. I'm going to update that entry to mention MOT, so thanks for the info!

 

PS - it would be even cooler if you could comment on the blog with your info. I feel weird copy-pasting your stuff, even though I get the sense that you wouldn't mind.

 

Please feel free to pull anything you need from my post or from the MINIS on Top website. You may wish to cite the stuff pulled from the website, though.

If anyone has questions about this event, you might try posting a message on the MINIs on Top Facebook Group page.

 

I went up the auto road a beautiful day the last week of August great drive, along with so many roads in that area. I actually did a week long road trip from NYC to Portland ME to North Conway NH to Burlington VT And back to NYC. Some of the best roads in the country, the CM was an absolute amazing road trip car, more fun then I have ever had on those roads.

 

It really is. We took mine from CT to NH for vacation in August, and it took an AMAZING amount of stuff. I blogged about that too, actually. It's such a pleasure to drive on mountain roads and a real butt-kicker on the highway too.

It fits so much stuff that I've started a tag called #whatcanifitinmyMINI for entries. And I think a photo contest of full MINIs is definitely in order.

 

Took our Mini Cooper Countryman from Chicago to LA this past week, did great! The Rockies were a challenge, the alitude caused the Cooper to labor real bad....wonder if the S would have helped. Many parts of the trip we ran 80+ rode great and very comfortable!