Working on images and the write up now. Sorry you missed the trip. Hopefully the wife is doing well and all is ok.

 

oh i bet this was awesome! i love yellowstone, cool idea.

 

For those who were unable to make this trip, we must say you missed one hell of a week. The group was 14 cars strong, and we did have a few additional cars join us along the way, making the final group 16 cars at the largest point.

Here is a summary of the week:

Day 1 - The day started with the usual introduction, paperwork and review of the week’s itinerary. We then headed out to drive the North Loop of Yellowstone Park, stopping at all the major attractions along the way. Everyone enjoyed seeing the sights and getting to know one another. Towards the end of the day, we quickly noticed that our group was becoming a side attraction to the park due to the Yellowstone decals we had on our cars to identify who belonged with the road trip group. The day ended with a fun dinner at a local BBQ joint where everyone continued to get to know each other.

Day 2 - The morning started off a little wet and chilly. We picked up two additional cars for the day as we headed out to explore the South Loop of Yellowstone Park. We had a few issues with parking as we toured the South Loop, as the tourist season had already started and some of the parking lots were small. However, we managed and were able to see everything we set out to see. Since we were in the busier parts of the Park, we started to gain even more notice due our Yellowstone Road Trip decals. We had park rangers and tourists alike, coming up to ask us all about the group. They were curious to know who we were, where we came from and what the road trip entailed. The day ended with dinner and drinks out at a local bar.

Day 3 - Today the trip began to gain more energy as we set out to tackle a drive over Beartooth Pass. We started our day at the Visitor Center, as we had in days past, and had more and more park rangers come up to admire our Yellowstone Road Trip decals and to ask about our group. Once we had everyone together, we headed out the East Entrance of the Park and picked up speed once we turned onto Beartooth Pass. The road winds its way up to a max altitude of 10,990 feet, before switch-backing its way down the other side of the mountain and into the small mountain town of Red Lodge. The speed limit over the pass is 70mph, but good luck keeping that average through the incredibly tight and continuous switchbacks. The drive itself was exhilarating, and the views of the surrounding valleys and mountain ranges were epic. The drive, to say the least, is one of the most thrilling, breath-taking and amazing stretches of road I have been on. We stopped in Red Lodge for an arranged lunch, and also made a few stops on the way back in order to take some group pictures and do some souvenir shopping at The Top of The World Store. The day ended with everyone grinning ear to ear and re-living the adventure over dinner.

Day 4 - We said good-bye to Yellowstone and hello to the Tetons. Our first stop was for an arranged group shot at the Old Faithful Inn, with the Old Faithful Geyser in the background. The photo shoot went fine, and a few park employees stood around commenting favorably on our group and cars. Then, things went sour very quickly when I was confronted by a head park ranger who was very angry he had not been informed that I had already completed all the necessary paperwork for our group to be there. After getting chewed out by the ranger, I was able to clear up the misunderstanding and we were allowed to finish taking our pictures. However, the ranger did inform us that our decals looked too close to the official park logo, and therefore it was unlawful for us to be using them. Keep in mind, the decals were about three times the size of the official park logo found on ranger uniforms and official park vehicles, and they were clearly labeled as, “2013 Euro Car Road Trip, Yellowstone.” The ranger did not make us remove the decals, and we only received favorable comments about them for the remainder of the trip. (It is worth noting that I received an email when I returned home from one of my contacts saying that there is a law which states no facsimiles of the official park logo can be made. I continue to argue it is not a facsimile, and note that only one individual made a negative comment about the logo throughout the trip). After the photo shoot, we made our way to Teton National Park, where we enjoyed the stunning views and enjoyed the plethora of blooming wild flowers. Some participants took a ferry across Lake Jenny and hiked to a waterfall and vista point; while others took in the views and then went on to explore the town of Jackson. The day ended with everyone sharing an AWESOME meal at the Cowboy Bar, which is below The Million Dollar Bar. I definitely recommend this place for dinner and drinks if you are ever staying in Jackson.

Day 5 – For the last day of the trip we had a smaller group, as some participants had to start their trek home. For those who were able to stay, we made a trip to Teton Village, where we enjoyed a fun Aerial Tram ride 4,139 vertical feet to the top of Rendezvous Mountain, where we could see endless views of the valley floor and Teton Mountain Range. After riding the tram back down the mountain, we drove around the valley floor to see the Chapel of the Transfiguration, Menor’s Ferry, as well as some old abandoned settlements. As the temperature started to climb, we decided to head back to Jackson and further explore the town. Dinner was at a great Mexican restaurant where many of us said our goodbyes before leaving for home the following day.

This is only a summary of the week’s events, and it fails to fully convey the amount of fun the group had. Everyone got along incredibly well, and many new friendships we made. We were all sad to end the trip, as we were starting to become one big and diverse family.

The goal of this trip is to be the start of a bi-annual road trip series, which will provide future opportunities to discover more of our amazing country, enjoy our cars and continue to make new friendships. We are already looking forward to 2015 and our next chance to do some sightseeing, fun driving, relax and catch up. All I can say to you if you are reading this is, if you can join us in 2015, I highly recommend doing so! The event will have the same laid back, and social feel, intermixed with some fun driving and sightseeing.

Here are a few sample images with more coming. I will post the album link once I have them created. We have a LOT of images which all will be posted soon.

 

Adam: I was the 2006 MINI Cooper JCW GP #1650 that kept crossing your path in Yellowstone and The Grand Tetons this past June. My wife and I came up with a Clubman Hampton Edition via South Dakota to see the Badlands and Mount Rushmore, over to Devils Tower Monument in Wyoming, then up to Red Lodge MT before we motored up the Beartooth.

Anyway, next time we'll try to hook up! We didn't see this until the day we left on our route.

 

Sorry you did not hook up with us. I saw you and was like WOW a limited GP works is here NICE.

Hope you can join us in 2015 for the next road trip and keep Leeds company in his mini =)

 

If you are referring to the Spice Orange MINI Cabrio driver...we met him up in Yellowstone the day you stayed in West Yellowstone at night. We stayed there too that night, and we saw his Cabrio on the main drag and tried to find him to share an adult beverage or two...but no luck.

See ya in 2015!

 

That is where I saw you. You went down main street and was wondering if you were with us or not HAHA.

Oh well only a year and some change to go =)

 

very cool trip. Yellowstone is definitely on the bucket list, though with kids, not sure the Mini is the best vehicle for us to embark on such a journey.
Curious if the Alaska driver made it down. That's a heck of a drive (from experience).

 

he did make it down

 

Took a while but finally done. After sorting around 6000 images of the trip, here are the top 3375 from the trip.

That is far to many images to post to the forum so the link below is to the albums.

http://www.norcaldrivers.com/albums/...20Road%20Trip/

 

If you do it in 2014, I'm in!

 

Sorry next group road trip is not till 2015.

 

I can make that work. I can't believe I lived in Wyoming as long as I did and never made it to Yellowstone. Bucket List!

 

Thanks for posting so much about your great road trip. Wife is doing much better... maybe we can join you in 2015 ... still have to get her to Yellowstone and Tetons...also Glacier and Canada Rockies... Larry

 

Glad to hear the wife is doing better.
I will post our itinerary of the week if you care to use that for your trip there.

 

Great photos and great trip, I'm unable to make road trips like this living on Maui and am extremely envious.

Kudo's for taking the time to organize this. One note, I do see where the head ranger had an issue with your decals, while an excellent idea to some folks they may have been close enough to make them look like a park related event. JMHO.

Good luck with the next adventure!

 

the decals were supposed to look close to tie the trip together. Only one ranger the entire time had issues. Go fig.

 

I would be nice if you post itinerary.. might get chance to use next year. thanks ,Larry

 

Some people from the other forums asked if I would post the itinerary so here it is. The link below has the full weeks itinerary, images, and summary of the event for those who wish to do the trip on their own or with a group.

Yellowstone trip itinerary