North American Motoring - Summary of a year with Argyll

Summary of a year with Argyll.

Today marks the 1st year anniversary of when I picked up my MINI Cooper, Argyll.
My adventures with him began when I was conveniently off work during a rig-move and received the call from the dealer asking when I would be able to pick him up. I quickly announced, now!

My parents were out of town (I think in England!), so I called up my friend Ryan to ask if he'd be interested in driving down from Salt Lake to stay over for the night and the next morning give me a ride into SLC to pick Argyll up. The next day we made our way to the dealer and low-and-behold, there he was in all his amazing glory! I signed the paperwork, paid for him, and then my MA (Motoring Advisor for all you non-MINI people out there) and I went through his systems. Ryan and I drove back to his apartment and then proceeded to motor around Salt Lake.

The next adventure I remember having with Argyll is driving to Montana to see my girlfriend, Miriam. I was at work the morning it began, and was finally able to leave around 2:00 am. I drove the 3.5 hours home in my Suburban and picked Argyll up at my parents' house to make the 10 hour drive to Billings. This was sometime in the summer so it was very hot outside and I quickly realized AC is awesome to have, but I couldn't afford to drive with it! I noticed a significant decrease in mpg with it on! Motoring through West Yellowstone was spectacular...I finally had a car that could pass those terrible motor-homes on the highway! A few wonderful days were spent with Miriam until I was suddenly called back to work and had to leave right away (~3 pm) to head back to work (the whole 13.5 hour drive). I was infuriated.

My next motoring adventure with Argyll came as a surprise with my dad. He asked if I'd like to take Argyll on a geocaching trip on a road he knew I'd like. Full of twisties! I gladly accepted and we found ourselves on an outstandingly beautiful road called "the Nebo loop." (amazing Fall motoring if you live in the area.)
See pictures from this motoring adventure here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/aorr/se...7594295698104/

I'm a little foggy on this, but I think the next major motoring adventure I took Argyll on was to Colorado Springs to visit my brother. I took Highway 40 from Heber to I-70 in Colorado...then through Denver on to the Springs. The pass we had to cross in the Rockies was 11.3k feet in elevation and this is where Argyll saw his first snow! It was snowing up there and I got a little scared with my all-season runflats on but he preformed as I should expect and ate the summit up and spit it out! No problemo! After a few days with my brother, I took the boring Interstate home to save much-needed time.

And this just about sums up the past year. I've put ~4500 miles on him and it's been a blast. Every last mile! In the year ahead, we have several large adventures to look forward to. The first one being a trip across the country. Heber City, Utah --> Bloomington, Indiana --> Austin, Texas for my friend Travis' wedding. I'm sure looking forward to it! We have several special stops scheduled so far, but I'm also looking for any recommendations along the way. One stop will surely be in Carlsbad Caverns, New Mexico!

The other adventure planned for Argyll this summer is a re-locating trip to Montana. I plan to move there sometime in late June and so we'll be looking forward to more adventures up north.

Andy