Short notice but on July 25th I'm leaving Denver at 4:00 AM and driving to Bozeman MT for the MINIs on the Beartooth Rallye on July 26th. I'm inviting anybody that wants to spend the weekend on the road to drive up with me.

My to route looks like this: Going Up - 768 beautiful miles.
Figure to do the rallye on Sunday and then Monday head to Scottsbluff, NE to pick-up my daughter and spend the night with my Dad in his B&B. I'll be back in Denver on Tuesday.

Again sorry for the short notice but I just found this thread: MOTB and decided to do it (in exchange for a MT MINI coming to MITM).

So let me know if you'd like to go and we can do the details.

 

Come on - nobody? Was it the 1,500 miles in 3 days or the 4:00 AM departure time?

 

Hi Chuck! Are you still going to do this? Luke, Ashleigh and I will be in Bozeman visiting family this coming weekend. We were already planning to drive home through Yellowstone, maybe we can adjust our Sunday plans to include the Beartooth Hwy.

 

Indeed I am. I think I'm staying Saturday night in Columbus and meeting the Montana bunch at 10:30 AM at the Town Pump gas station.
Here's some MOTB info: http://www.bigskyminis.com/rallies/2009MOTB.html
We are then driving to Red Lodge and back through the park on 212.
It would be great to see you guys - make it if you can.

 

Wow, I can't believe I didn't see this!

I sure hope some of you are able to make it!

A little bit has changed in the last couple of days, Chuck.
We're now meeting in Columbus at 10:00 am and departing Columbus at 10:30. I hope that won't spoil your planning. Also, we'll be taking Highway 78 from Columbus to Red Lodge. That's the route we took last year and it's fantastic! Much better than 212!

PawPaw, I sure hope you can attend! We would LOVE to have you as another out-of-state guest!

If you guys have any questions, please don't hesitate to call me at 406.600.2697!

Thanks much!
-Andy
www.bigskyminis.com

 

Last chance peeps. I'm heading out tomorrow morning so if you want to go, let me know.

 

Chuck,
This would have been a good trip, but the budget is tapped for a few more months. Wedding, tune, MITM, just not enough for gas, even if the prices are going up and down. I know gas is cheaper in Wyoming. (haha)!
Don

Btw, we lost power about 10minutes ago, I hope comcast stays online. Laptop helps too.

 

The gasoline in Montana is free as is the power and it never runs out or gets cut off. I've heard too that the roads have no speed limit, the water is cold and clear and the sky is the deepest of blues. I've also heard that men are men in Montana and that the sheep are scared - don't quite know what that means...
I'll think of you all while motoring on the Beartooth.

 

Good description, Chuck!

We also have bizarre road names like:
Goes Nowhere Rd.
Dirt Rd.
ect.
:-)

Our addresses are posted as: 32 miles past Big Sky. (true address! I work at FedEx and have seen it on boxes!) We still get packages addressed as So-and-So in Pray, MT. No actual address and we're able to deliver them because the driver knows the town so well. :-P

Good stuff.

The best one yet:
______ Ranch
1 Slaugh Creek
Gardiner, MT

This is an impossible address to get to via vehicle. The only way into this ranch is to drive into the Lamar Valley of Yellowstone and take a 12 mile trail ride to the ranch by horse. Call in the Pony Express! We had a package go there the other day and I had to figure out how to deliver it!

-Andy

Enjoy your drive up here! It'll be a blast! PawPaw is coming too it sounds like!

 

Well I've made it to Columbus MT. for the night. A total of 768 miles in 12-1/2 hours (don't do the math I was exceeding the limit most times). Here are a few pictures from the trip up (you should have been along):

Sunrises over the Poudre Canyon


Made it to Cameron Pass by 7:00 AM


Split Rock near Jeffery City, Wyoming (MGTY all over again).


Wind River Canyon between Shoshoni & Thermopolis Wyoming


Drive up Sunlight Basin (Chief Joseph Highway), Wyoming.


On the Beartooth Highway going to Red Lodge, Montana.

Meeting up with the Montana club tomorrow. More to come.

 

Chuck, Keep posting the pictures, we can enjoy the ride through you. Thanks...

Looks beautiful.

 

Now I know what car to look for in Columbus! Thanks for posting the beautiful pictures. I hope it wasn't too much of a hardship driving through all that....

I'm getting packed to meet the Bozeman group in a few minutes. It's going to be a great day!

 

I washed the MINI last night just in time for a little rain and a lot of wind. Its clean now and ready to motor.

 

It's good you washed it in time for a lot of miles through rain....

 

A little rain, but heck its summer and the mountains - got to expect some showers. I had a great time with some new friends. Next year I will try and bring some MINI5280 members with me. Here's some enticement:

Heading up the hill


Yup - we went up there!


Awesome vistas


Had all the tourists taking pictures of us instead of the mountains.


Departing the north side of Yellowstone Park

Now I want you to know that most of these photos were shot by my 10 year old copilot - Ashleigh (Linda & Luke's girl) who simply had to ride in a convertible. Obviously a very smart girl.
If it weren't for Ashleigh I'd have no pictures of today but she did great!

Thanks again Big Sky MINIs.

Chuck

 

Ashleigh took some great pictures!

We're so happy you could make the long trip up to join us, Chuck. It's always nice to meet new MINI folks. We're a small group, but we have LOTS of fun!

 

Chuck, those photos turned out great. I'll show them to Ashleigh tonight!

Mel & Andy, thanks for organizing a wonderful drive. I'm glad we were able to join you and we look forward to maybe coming up this fall for another ride.

After we split off at Tower Junction to head home, we made a short stop at the Canyon Vistor Center. After leaving there we ran into a bison traffic jam that delayed us about 1 1/2 hours. We decided to skip the Tetons since it was going to be dark by the time we got there. We finally pulled into our driveway at 2am, driving a total of 1005 miles roundtrip!

Thanks again Chuck for allowing Ashleigh to be your co-pilot. That really made her day!

 

Wow, 1 1/2 hours for bison!? Please tell me they were just in the road not moving, and not that people were stopped to see them in a field....?

We hope you'll be able to come up again sometime--it was so nice to meet you guys, and your daughter was so precocious, make sure to bring her again if you come up this way! I made sure to include her in the e-mail I sent out this morning...

 

It was a combination, the bison were just standing in the road but people were stopping to take photos of them on the side of the road - very frustrating. We planned to eat dinner at Fishing Bridge but the restaurant closed at 8:30, which was right when we got there!

It was great to meet you too. I've heard a lot about you from Sandy, so it's nice to put a face with the name. Unfortunately Ashleigh won't be with us if we come up on Columbus Day, she is with her Dad that weekend. I did notice you included her on the email, she will be so pleased!

 

this is ashleigh.
CHUCK: thanks for letting me be your co-pilot. i had loooooooooooooooots of fun
MEL & ANDY: thanks for organizing the trip. i liked it aloooooooooooooooooooot

 

Thanks everyone for coming out to see enjoy the rally! I do hope you had an enjoyable time!
It was great to have our youngest rally guest this year, too! We hope you enjoyed it Ashleigh! (I love the spelling of your name, too! It looks to be Irish Gaelic. Very cool!)

And thank you Chuck for coming up from Denver! We do hope you'll be able to join us next year! I know the oil-field is hit and miss with days off so I hope it can work out! Also, if you do hear of anyone hiring poor geologists, please advise!

Maybe next year we'll do better on keeping the radio chatter to a more manageable state. :-) We just get so excited! :-)

I'm transferring the video right now so I hope to have a video done in a week or two! Got a lot to do on it so it'll take time! But I think it'll be worth the wait!

Thanks again everyone! You guys rock for coming to this!

-Andy Orr
BTW, we're going to have a Facebook group started at some point so please add me to your friends list with the email: aorr@mac.com

Thanks!

 

Final installments:

Twisties on the climb up the Tensleeps near Lovell, WY


Matilda taking a breather on top of the Tensleeps while heading toward Sheridan, WY.


Southern edge of the Black Hills near Upton, WY


um ... must be Nebraska . Just south of Harrison, NE.


My dad's B&B (The Barn Anew) at the base of Scottsbluff


Crossing Scottsbluff on the orignal Oregon Trail.
Here is a link to my Flickr set: MOTB
Great trip!

 

What a trip you've had, Chuck! I bet Matilda will be happy to get home and catch a breather...?
Thanks for sharing the pics, and thanks again for coming up. You'll always be welcome at our shindigs. Would you like me to keep your address for any future meets?