10,000 Miles and 26 states
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4th Gear
Joined: Jun 2002
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From: Stroudsburg, PA
10,000 Miles and 26 states
10,000 miles, 3500 photos, 26 states, and 37 days in a MINI
2005 Cross-country MINI gallery
Warning: this is necessarily LONG, so I'll post it in three installments.
Things were changing. I had just received a hard-fought MFA, and we had purchased our first house in another city. We were both about to be between jobs. So we decided to move all of our stuff into the new place, and three days later embark on a whirlwind, epic, cross-country road trip adventure on a shoe-string budget!
Actually, the trip had been conceived of in a general sort of way a year or so ago, but nothing was finalized until… well, most of it was not finalized until we got there! My wife has many relatives in the Midwest, I have them scattered down in the south east and the northern middle, and we both have friends on the west coast that we never get to see. Not to mention that I was a Coast-Guard kid, and was born in Oregon, but don’t have any memories of it. So armed with a firm resolve to see the country and experience the open road to the best of our abilities before we “settle down (a little),”off we went.
The idea was to experience things along the road; the journey was more important than particular destinations, with a few exceptions. The idea was also to see as much as we could for as little cash as possible. To satisfy both of these criteria, we avoided major cities, as much as practical, except for a few photo ops. We did not “hit the town,” and specifically avoided the Big Easy which should be a trip all on its own. Fortunately, we had planned far enough ahead that we used our monetary wedding gifts on camping supplies. We waited for EMS’s spring sale and had a ball. We were a rolling advertisement. A word of advice: National Park passes are great! It paid for itself many times over.
Gear: I think we did pretty well as far as what to pack for a 10k mile journey that included everything from snowy mountains to baking desert. We opted for a two person tent that could serve backpacking/kayaking duties later. It served us well. Definitely opt for the extra ground cloth. Two foam sleeping pads: they were fine, but for another $40, we could have saved some space on this one. Live and learn. We found 45/25 degree rated sleeping bags at EMS, where one side had thicker fill, and you just flipped it to the side you needed. These are brilliant, and I don’t think we could have done better. I should have bought compression caps for the stuff sacks, but we were trying to conserve cash. Mountainsmith gear bags kept everything well organized. I recommend them. Our kitchen included two mess kits, two sets of camping utensils, a larger camp pot, and a Whisperlite International stove. The thing folds up into nothing, and can burn anything from kerosene to jet fuel. If you are into things like temperature modulation, you’d best practice with this one before you leave home. Oh, and one of the larger camp fuel bottles (the red ones) lasted the entire trip. The two largest items were the full sized plug-in cooler and the bag of clothes, which was roughly the same size. Probably could have pared that one down, but for the various climates, it proved useful. The cooler was great for eating out of grocery stores rather than fast-food. We kept all kinds of stuff in there. If you have the space, it’s worth it. Oh, then there was the large camera bag that we took out only at the grand canyon. The digital was just so much easier. Oh, did I mention that we had a laptop with us? Yeah; and a hatchet and a machete as well. Creative packing gave us a view to the rear and limited side views out the back. Not bad.
2005 Cross-country MINI gallery
Warning: this is necessarily LONG, so I'll post it in three installments.
Things were changing. I had just received a hard-fought MFA, and we had purchased our first house in another city. We were both about to be between jobs. So we decided to move all of our stuff into the new place, and three days later embark on a whirlwind, epic, cross-country road trip adventure on a shoe-string budget!
Actually, the trip had been conceived of in a general sort of way a year or so ago, but nothing was finalized until… well, most of it was not finalized until we got there! My wife has many relatives in the Midwest, I have them scattered down in the south east and the northern middle, and we both have friends on the west coast that we never get to see. Not to mention that I was a Coast-Guard kid, and was born in Oregon, but don’t have any memories of it. So armed with a firm resolve to see the country and experience the open road to the best of our abilities before we “settle down (a little),”off we went.
The idea was to experience things along the road; the journey was more important than particular destinations, with a few exceptions. The idea was also to see as much as we could for as little cash as possible. To satisfy both of these criteria, we avoided major cities, as much as practical, except for a few photo ops. We did not “hit the town,” and specifically avoided the Big Easy which should be a trip all on its own. Fortunately, we had planned far enough ahead that we used our monetary wedding gifts on camping supplies. We waited for EMS’s spring sale and had a ball. We were a rolling advertisement. A word of advice: National Park passes are great! It paid for itself many times over.
Gear: I think we did pretty well as far as what to pack for a 10k mile journey that included everything from snowy mountains to baking desert. We opted for a two person tent that could serve backpacking/kayaking duties later. It served us well. Definitely opt for the extra ground cloth. Two foam sleeping pads: they were fine, but for another $40, we could have saved some space on this one. Live and learn. We found 45/25 degree rated sleeping bags at EMS, where one side had thicker fill, and you just flipped it to the side you needed. These are brilliant, and I don’t think we could have done better. I should have bought compression caps for the stuff sacks, but we were trying to conserve cash. Mountainsmith gear bags kept everything well organized. I recommend them. Our kitchen included two mess kits, two sets of camping utensils, a larger camp pot, and a Whisperlite International stove. The thing folds up into nothing, and can burn anything from kerosene to jet fuel. If you are into things like temperature modulation, you’d best practice with this one before you leave home. Oh, and one of the larger camp fuel bottles (the red ones) lasted the entire trip. The two largest items were the full sized plug-in cooler and the bag of clothes, which was roughly the same size. Probably could have pared that one down, but for the various climates, it proved useful. The cooler was great for eating out of grocery stores rather than fast-food. We kept all kinds of stuff in there. If you have the space, it’s worth it. Oh, then there was the large camera bag that we took out only at the grand canyon. The digital was just so much easier. Oh, did I mention that we had a laptop with us? Yeah; and a hatchet and a machete as well. Creative packing gave us a view to the rear and limited side views out the back. Not bad.
Thread Starter
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4th Gear
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 573
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From: Stroudsburg, PA
10,000 Miles and 26 states (part II)
Part II
Trip Gallery
MINI note: One thing I have to caution any would-be MINI travelers out there about is this: Your car will ride low in the rear. This doesn’t seem to noticeable affect the performance (I tested this), but it will throw your camber off. I just didn’t think about it. I would recommend a set of adjustable swing arms to offset this on LONG trips. My rear tires are now very worn on the inside, and they were nearly new at the outset.
Route:
I’ll just give a brief rundown of the route here. For a detailed account, go to http://www.roughguidesintouch/Verruckt . Don’t by any means think that we failed to stop and smell any roses… or old gas stations… because we did it all. [font=Wingdings]J[/font]
As I said, we did our best to stick to back roads. We started off in the Poccono mountains of eastern PA and headed south through Maryland and Virginia via Skyline Drive and the Blue Ridge Parkway, stopping to visit friends in Charlottesville, VA. From there we stopped to see Family in Winston-Salem, then headed West to Cherokee, NC. After the lush green hills of TN, we worked our way through the Hot and dry south of MO to visit my wife’s grandmother near the MO/KS/OK borders.
The MINI got it’s first taste of the great heartland off-road at Prairie Land State Park. Beautiful. (Muddy dirt roads, much like snow and slush, can cause wheelspin and set off the flat-tire sensor) From there, after a stop at Sonic (gotta motor to the drive-in), we headed south through Kansas to the Oklahoma border, entering on the NE corner. We picked up Route 66 in Miami (My-am-uh), OK. If you have the chance, visit the Coleman Theater. It’s absolutely amazing, and the tours of the place are the most thorough anywhere. They even ran a program on the pipe organ for us (Phantom of the Opera, no less). http://www.colemantheatre.org/
From there to Flagstaff, old Route 66 consumed us. Well, mostly me, but my wife got into it too, and we both got to drive on some of the oldest original paved sections in the country. For anyone traveling through Oklahoma, I heartily endorse it as the best overall Route 66 state. And if you want to find the old routes, go to http://www.oklahomaroute66.com for the BEST guide, hands down; it’s a shame other states don’t do this as well!
Trip Gallery
MINI note: One thing I have to caution any would-be MINI travelers out there about is this: Your car will ride low in the rear. This doesn’t seem to noticeable affect the performance (I tested this), but it will throw your camber off. I just didn’t think about it. I would recommend a set of adjustable swing arms to offset this on LONG trips. My rear tires are now very worn on the inside, and they were nearly new at the outset.
Route:
I’ll just give a brief rundown of the route here. For a detailed account, go to http://www.roughguidesintouch/Verruckt . Don’t by any means think that we failed to stop and smell any roses… or old gas stations… because we did it all. [font=Wingdings]J[/font]
As I said, we did our best to stick to back roads. We started off in the Poccono mountains of eastern PA and headed south through Maryland and Virginia via Skyline Drive and the Blue Ridge Parkway, stopping to visit friends in Charlottesville, VA. From there we stopped to see Family in Winston-Salem, then headed West to Cherokee, NC. After the lush green hills of TN, we worked our way through the Hot and dry south of MO to visit my wife’s grandmother near the MO/KS/OK borders.
The MINI got it’s first taste of the great heartland off-road at Prairie Land State Park. Beautiful. (Muddy dirt roads, much like snow and slush, can cause wheelspin and set off the flat-tire sensor) From there, after a stop at Sonic (gotta motor to the drive-in), we headed south through Kansas to the Oklahoma border, entering on the NE corner. We picked up Route 66 in Miami (My-am-uh), OK. If you have the chance, visit the Coleman Theater. It’s absolutely amazing, and the tours of the place are the most thorough anywhere. They even ran a program on the pipe organ for us (Phantom of the Opera, no less). http://www.colemantheatre.org/
From there to Flagstaff, old Route 66 consumed us. Well, mostly me, but my wife got into it too, and we both got to drive on some of the oldest original paved sections in the country. For anyone traveling through Oklahoma, I heartily endorse it as the best overall Route 66 state. And if you want to find the old routes, go to http://www.oklahomaroute66.com for the BEST guide, hands down; it’s a shame other states don’t do this as well!
Thread Starter
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4th Gear
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 573
Likes: 0
From: Stroudsburg, PA
10,000 Miles and 26 states (part III)
Part III
(if a moderator could combine these, that would be great)
Trip Gallery
The old road took us to dozens of little towns, some thriving, many struggling. But there were many friendly people along the way. I could write a book about that experience, and this is getting long, so you can checkout the web site if you want more depth [font=Wingdings]J[/font] So we drove west through OK, TX, NM, and AZ. Oh. Just one thing. If you have to stop at ONE diner along the entirety of the old 66, stop at the Midpoint Café in Adrienne, TX. REAL home-made food. The club sandwich was made from actual turkey and ham, sliced from hunks of real meat in thick chunks, and the hamburgers were literally lowing in the fields that morning. And the cobblers were to die for. Another note: Tulsa is vastly underrated, and Oklahoma city suffers from the opposite affliction. The Oklahoma Route 66 Museum is much better than the National Route 66 Museum.
We discovered that New Mexico and Arizona can be green, and that it is eerie how you can see the landscape change at the Texas Borders. We also discovered that Santa Fe is nothing like we imagined it (but NM is great for going fast), and that Amarillo is closed on Sunday.
From Flagstaff we did the Grand Canyon thing, the Vegas (at night) thing, the Hoover Dam thing, the Yosemite thing (GREAT roads!), and on into the San Fran Thing. In San Fran we had the opportunity to see some very good old friends (Hi Etak!). The West Coast was amazing. We followed Highway 1 and US 101 up to Seattle, with significant stops in Coos Bay and Portland. Highway 1 is “Great Roads” number 2 for this trip. Portland is an amazing city. Seattle… not so much so (in our opinion). We headed back east via the Columbia River gorge, and hit Yellowstone.
When you see a sign in Yellowstone that says “Very Rough Road Ahead,” PAY ATTENTION. It may take 15 miles to get there, but they mean it! We took US 14 out of the park to the east, and that’s where we found “Great Driving Road” number three. In my opinion, the mac daddy of the roads we hit. In Wyoming, US 14 crosses the Bighorn Mountains just past a little diner called “Dirty Annie’s” where a local guy asked me which way I was headed, and when I said “east,” he told me that I was going to have a ball, that “…those mountains were made for [MINIs] and Porches.” I was not disappointed.
We headed straight east to Summit, SD, dipped back down into NE and northern MO before finishing up with a family visit in Chicago, and then a straight shot home. We figured that we can do all of those little northeastern states later. [font=Wingdings]J[/font] It was a trip of a lifetime. I hope to get the chance to do it again! The MINI has earned his stripes. Now I just have to find one of those big US map decals that they put on RVs, and put it on the sunroof. [font=Wingdings]J[/font]
(if a moderator could combine these, that would be great)
Trip Gallery
The old road took us to dozens of little towns, some thriving, many struggling. But there were many friendly people along the way. I could write a book about that experience, and this is getting long, so you can checkout the web site if you want more depth [font=Wingdings]J[/font] So we drove west through OK, TX, NM, and AZ. Oh. Just one thing. If you have to stop at ONE diner along the entirety of the old 66, stop at the Midpoint Café in Adrienne, TX. REAL home-made food. The club sandwich was made from actual turkey and ham, sliced from hunks of real meat in thick chunks, and the hamburgers were literally lowing in the fields that morning. And the cobblers were to die for. Another note: Tulsa is vastly underrated, and Oklahoma city suffers from the opposite affliction. The Oklahoma Route 66 Museum is much better than the National Route 66 Museum.
We discovered that New Mexico and Arizona can be green, and that it is eerie how you can see the landscape change at the Texas Borders. We also discovered that Santa Fe is nothing like we imagined it (but NM is great for going fast), and that Amarillo is closed on Sunday.
From Flagstaff we did the Grand Canyon thing, the Vegas (at night) thing, the Hoover Dam thing, the Yosemite thing (GREAT roads!), and on into the San Fran Thing. In San Fran we had the opportunity to see some very good old friends (Hi Etak!). The West Coast was amazing. We followed Highway 1 and US 101 up to Seattle, with significant stops in Coos Bay and Portland. Highway 1 is “Great Roads” number 2 for this trip. Portland is an amazing city. Seattle… not so much so (in our opinion). We headed back east via the Columbia River gorge, and hit Yellowstone.
When you see a sign in Yellowstone that says “Very Rough Road Ahead,” PAY ATTENTION. It may take 15 miles to get there, but they mean it! We took US 14 out of the park to the east, and that’s where we found “Great Driving Road” number three. In my opinion, the mac daddy of the roads we hit. In Wyoming, US 14 crosses the Bighorn Mountains just past a little diner called “Dirty Annie’s” where a local guy asked me which way I was headed, and when I said “east,” he told me that I was going to have a ball, that “…those mountains were made for [MINIs] and Porches.” I was not disappointed.
We headed straight east to Summit, SD, dipped back down into NE and northern MO before finishing up with a family visit in Chicago, and then a straight shot home. We figured that we can do all of those little northeastern states later. [font=Wingdings]J[/font] It was a trip of a lifetime. I hope to get the chance to do it again! The MINI has earned his stripes. Now I just have to find one of those big US map decals that they put on RVs, and put it on the sunroof. [font=Wingdings]J[/font]
6th Gear
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 1,268
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From: Left Coast
What a trip! Not the typical postcard photos. The descriptions and opinions of places are suggestive. Tips on long travel in the MINI are valuable. Who would have thunk about tire loading and wear on a vacation? Very informative. Thanks! 
3rd Gear
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 200
Likes: 0
From: San Antonio Texas
Very nice, and great pics. My wife and I are planning a trip to see some friends in Branson MO (we are in San Antonio, TX), our first really long MINI trip. I won't hijack this thread, but I will start another for some hints an dput a link here when I start the thread.
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4th Gear
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 573
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From: Stroudsburg, PA
Thanks for the comments! I could write a book about this trip. And we keep finding more MINI photos. We really did take like 3500 pictures. 
I'd be happy to offer suggestions or opinions about the route. I forgot to mention that I had my 25k service in portland on short notice (couldn't plan too far ahead). They were great, and timing was perfect, as I hadn't thought about the fact that I was at 35,500 miles when I pulled into the dealer!
I'd be happy to offer suggestions or opinions about the route. I forgot to mention that I had my 25k service in portland on short notice (couldn't plan too far ahead). They were great, and timing was perfect, as I hadn't thought about the fact that I was at 35,500 miles when I pulled into the dealer!
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4th Gear
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 573
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From: Stroudsburg, PA
This is the famous (and recently restored!) Blue Whale in Catoosa, Oklahoma, right on Route 66 across from the Arrowood Trading Post. For info on the Blue whale, call 918/266-6042. YOu can probably find lots of info online, but that's the number given in the Oklahoma Route 66 Travel guide, which, in case I failed to stress this enough, is DA BOMB!
I wish I had gotten a photo of the MINI with the whale, but you can't think of everything! It used to be a popular swimming hole, but I wouldn't swim in it these days. Still, it's fun to climb around on the whale!
This is a great shot! Where is this?
Clover
I wish I had gotten a photo of the MINI with the whale, but you can't think of everything!
It used to be a popular swimming hole, but I wouldn't swim in it these days. Still, it's fun to climb around on the whale!
Originally Posted by MINIclo
This is a great shot! Where is this? Clover
1st Gear
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 44
Likes: 0
From: Seattle, WA
Rasmussen MINI in Portland
Congrats on your trip! We did Route 66 last fall (I can't believe it's been almost a year!!), we're the MINI that tows the teardrop (see November in the NAM calendar...)
You were fortunate to come across Rasmussen MINI, and no doubt Ann Fry. I live in Seattle and my dealer of choice is Rasmussen in Portland and I make the 180 mile each way trip when I need something taken care of. I've been down there 4 times in the last year - fortunately things seem to be all fixed and I haven't had to go since April. I roll 44k this week. I take a day off work, crank SIRIUS satellite radio and I have my favorite food places along the route.
Ann managed to get our 20k Inspection 1 okay'd early because we would roll past 0 in the first half of our trip. She called warranty and got the ok - and the Fife dealer (Washington's only dealer) never would make the call and then when we got the ok they refused to do the work. Ann took care of everything for us and we are very grateful.
You were fortunate to come across Rasmussen MINI, and no doubt Ann Fry. I live in Seattle and my dealer of choice is Rasmussen in Portland and I make the 180 mile each way trip when I need something taken care of. I've been down there 4 times in the last year - fortunately things seem to be all fixed and I haven't had to go since April. I roll 44k this week. I take a day off work, crank SIRIUS satellite radio and I have my favorite food places along the route.
Ann managed to get our 20k Inspection 1 okay'd early because we would roll past 0 in the first half of our trip. She called warranty and got the ok - and the Fife dealer (Washington's only dealer) never would make the call and then when we got the ok they refused to do the work. Ann took care of everything for us and we are very grateful.
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4th Gear
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 573
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From: Stroudsburg, PA
Oh, I LOVE your teardrop! THAT would have been nice to have. Maybe someday! Yes, Ann Fry was a lifesaver! I had called for an appointment, and was actually in the basement of Alcatraz when she called me back. 
(I was surprised that I even got service down there). I wish I was close enough to have them be my dealer. And Portland is such a beautiful city!
[QUOTE=GRNSTRK]Congrats on your trip! We did Route 66 last fall (I can't believe it's been almost a year!!), we're the MINI that tows the teardrop (see November in the NAM calendar...)
You were fortunate to come across Rasmussen MINI, and no doubt Ann Fry. I live in Seattle and my dealer of choice is Rasmussen in Portland and I make the 180 mile each way trip when I need something taken care of.
(I was surprised that I even got service down there). I wish I was close enough to have them be my dealer. And Portland is such a beautiful city! [QUOTE=GRNSTRK]Congrats on your trip! We did Route 66 last fall (I can't believe it's been almost a year!!), we're the MINI that tows the teardrop (see November in the NAM calendar...)
You were fortunate to come across Rasmussen MINI, and no doubt Ann Fry. I live in Seattle and my dealer of choice is Rasmussen in Portland and I make the 180 mile each way trip when I need something taken care of.
2nd Gear
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 100
Likes: 0
From: Ida, Michigan
Verruckt, I know where you are comming from, I just returned from a 8,937 mile trip. I live in Monroe Michigan and we headed for the M.O.R.E. gathering with the West Coast Coopers in Eureka Ca. We took 4 weeks, and did the southern route on the way out, then the northern route on the return trip. We traveled through Louisville KY, Little Rock Ark, Ammarillo Tx, Santa Rosa NM, Denver Colo, Moab Ut, Las Vegas Nv, Eureka CA, Portland Or, Great Falls Mont, Rapid City SD, Fargo ND, and Mackinaw MI. We visited Palo Dura Canyon TX, went to the top of Pikes Peak and Seven waterfalls in Colo, Arches, Dead Horse Point, Koleb Canyon, Zion, Bryce parks in Utah, crossed Death Valley, Yosemite, The Lost Coast Highway, and The Redwoods in CA. Then took highway 101 up the Oregon coast to Portland, and hit Glacier NP in Mont. Yellowstone, The Tetons and Devils Tower in Wy, Mt. Rushmore and The Badlands in SD. Then took the long way home through the UP and crossed the Mackinaw bridge.
Had the MINI's second oil change and first service at Desert Mini in Las Vegas. Not one problem with the car except as you stated, my brand new Parada Spec 2's are badly worn in the insides. Both front and rear are showing inside wear, I would only have expected the rears to wear. I weighed our gear as we removed it from the car after the trip and it was just a little over 300 pounds.
I had Detroit Tuned install the H-Sport lower control arms yesterday and set the rear camber to 0 deg., I believe the spec is -1 deg, but thought setting it at 0 would possibly even out the wear. Will rotate soon after we see what the wear is like on the rears.
Glad you had a good safe trip, If you enjoyed it half as much as we did, I know you had a great time.
Rick.
Had the MINI's second oil change and first service at Desert Mini in Las Vegas. Not one problem with the car except as you stated, my brand new Parada Spec 2's are badly worn in the insides. Both front and rear are showing inside wear, I would only have expected the rears to wear. I weighed our gear as we removed it from the car after the trip and it was just a little over 300 pounds.
I had Detroit Tuned install the H-Sport lower control arms yesterday and set the rear camber to 0 deg., I believe the spec is -1 deg, but thought setting it at 0 would possibly even out the wear. Will rotate soon after we see what the wear is like on the rears.
Glad you had a good safe trip, If you enjoyed it half as much as we did, I know you had a great time.
Rick.
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