Just returned last night from an 11 day, 5,150 mile trip in the MCS with my daughter. Jacksonville, FL to St Louis on day 1. Day 2, get up early, get to the Arch before anyone else, get pics of the arch and the Mississippi Queen paddle wheeler and then on the way to Denver, CO. Day 3 we drove up to Estes Park, CO and through the Rocky Mountain National Park. The MCS had a hard time at less than 2,000 RPM's at altitudes above 8,000 feet, which was several days. Days 4 and 5 were spent on a two day hike across the park. We came back to find a group of people looking at the car and taking pics. Very cool.

Day 6 was a straight shot up to Jackson, WY, day 7 was sightseeing in Yellowstone, day 8 was an 11 mile hike up/down 3,000 feet of the Grand Tetons.

Day 9 was spent driving to Sioux Falls, SD via Mt Rushmore, where we stopped just long enough to take a couple pics. Day 10 we drove to Indianapolis and day 11 we drove home with a slight detour over the Dragon, which was one of the best parts of the trip

Important stats:

Average Speed - 61.0 MPH
Fuel Consumption - 29.7 MPG
MINI Sitings - 24 (plus one smashed one on a truck)
Animals Seen - Grouse, deer, elk, grizzly bear, moose, mice, chipmunks, squirrel, buffalo, rabbit, antelope, marmots.
Animals Killed in the making of this journey - one suicidal rabbit, at night in SD
Windscreen Chips - 2
Paint Chips - 1 large one on the hood
People Asking, "What Kinda Car is THAT?" - 3
People Pointing at the MINI - Too many to count

It was a great road trip and the MCS is a great cross-country car. I'll have to post some pics tomorrow.

 

That sounds like a really cool trip. Did you guys share the driving at all? MMm the Dragon....someday.

I'm looking forward to the pictures.

 

Wowza! What a great trip... I can't wait to see some of the pictures.. Most kids wouldn't want to take a trip this like with their Dad. Your daughter must have had a blast...:smile: Welcome back safe & sound.

Donna
02' CR/W MCS (gone to MINI heaven - burned up)
05' Cool Blue MCSC "Ariel"
05' HB/W MCS "Gizmo"

 

Sounds like a sweet trip - one I will be in part be duplicating this spring. The chips are the only thing I'm concerned about, but hey - it's a car, meant to be driven right!? Do you know where you got them - like behind a truck or something? I've found myself purposely avoiding semis and hanging way back where I would normally tailgate, just to protect the Mini. My other car has about 50 chips from 120,000 miles

 

kaelaria, I was very careful to not tailgate anyone but I had two different things thrown up at me, both of which chipped the windscreen and one that chipped the paint. This trip was the worst as far as people pulling right over in front of me. It was me and one other person for as far as the eye could see and they would still pull right in front of me when they were past, which meant that I would whip over into the passing lane in order to try and avoid chips. Not sure why people do that when there's noone pressuring them to get out of the fast lane


I did almost all of the driving, except for a total of about 1.5 hours. The daughter is still learning to drive the stick and I like driving.

Here's the pics. First one is all the stuff that we needed to pack. The cooler is the only thing that didn't make it.

Here's the car with the back packed. No obstructions to the back or side windows

Second morning was in St. Louis.

Next stop was Rocky Mountain National Park.

Then on to Yellowstone and Old Faithful.

This is where we say some very up close elk and buffalo.


Next day was off to hike up the Grand Tetons.

On the way back home we passed by Mt Rushmore.

And the last day included a blast down The Dragon.


That was as much fun as you could pack into an 11 day vacation.

 

That's awesome!

 

sweet trip! Thanks for sharing.

 

LUCKY ! :smile:

Even got to run the Tail of the Dragon. Hogged up all the fun, didn't ya?

Nice Pics!

 

What a great time you must've had. Thanks for sharing your story and pics with us.

I've been getting the roadtrip bug lately. Your travel tale only adds to this temptation. In my case, it'd be a trip to Chicago and back (to L.A.).


-Juan
P/S: That's one clean-looking garage you guys have there!