Redding Ca to Crystal Bay NV 388km (241 miles)

A fun day, as the Victoria gang joined up with the Shasta Minis from the Redding area, and we had 6 classic and 15 new Minis in a convoy. We took a detour to Susanville and picked up 3 more classics, and and trailer combo towing two new Minis.. we ran down 395 and then cut across to 89 and down into Lake Tahoe.. no issues today, everyone ran well even in the heat that hit up to 100 on the flats and stayed in the 90s up in the higher elevations (5000 feet+). The VTEC mini is running well and no problems towing the trailer up the hills, still using 5th.. no need to gear down.. cars are still arriving as I type... so parking lot should be full by tomorrow when the show starts..
Don got his car towed to Redding, rented a car and has now joined us at MMW, so we are all here now.... The rest of the SAMOA gang took some backroads following Dan, and had an excellent cool drive..

not a lot of good pics from me today.. too hot.. but here's what i got! (will take lot's of pics at the show)

2011-06-21

Day 3 - Brookings OR to Redding Ca 414km (257 miles)

This was supposed to be a short day and started out with some great weather and nice road... and a walk through the Redwood Forest.. then we had a bit of a disaster as one of the cars blew it's engine while passing a truck loaded with hay.. there was a loud novice and huge cloud of smoke and nothing.. over to the side, and it looks like a rod blew out the back of the block on Don's 998. We managed to call AAA who arranged for a truck to pick up the car, and it will be delivered to O2 Motorsports in Redding in the next day or two. We loaded Don and his wife's luggage into the trailer, and Don in my car, his wife with Jerry and off we went to the Samoa Cook house for lunch

Yes i was there as well.. hard to get in the shot when you are taking it!

, and then onto Redding... running into traffic issues with one lane closures due to construction.. but some great curvy roads once we got moving..along the way about an hour from Redding Jame's car dies.. This turns out to be the fuse for the fuel pump, but the pump seems to be getting hot.. did I mention that it is 34 degrees Celsius (94 f) .. We also stop as there is a forest fire and the helicopters are pulling buckets of water out of the lake near the highway..after a few stops and starts the car seems to run fine until we arrive, very late in Redding.. we never made it to Fat Boys, but a few of us dropped into O2 and they were loading up the cars for tomorrows trip..

Photos here

2011-06-20

Day 2 Tillamook OR to Brookings OR 440km (273miles)

A great day today.. we headed out early leaving the Seattle team lollygagging around in leisure, sleeping in, polishing and tuning their cars or something. We drove 3.5 hours and headed out for a ride on the Oregon dunes in the sand rails. We had to wait no more than 10 minutes and had a fabulous ride.. right on the edge.. as Terry put it.. almost rolling over at a couple of points, but we had an exceptional driver.. just a blast! We hooked up with the now wide awake Seattle gang for lunch at a small diner... and then headed off in a convoy to Brookings, stopping for pictures along the way. There is nothing quite like the Oregon coast with beautiful rolling sands and huge crashing waves.. the weather has finally gotten warmer and minimal rain today..
More pictures from today click on the picture below...

2011-06-19

We find more Minis

Overnight several Minis appeared from the Seattle gang, as they had been out for dinner.. more are around at an alternate motel.. here's a few.. Apparently as they were charging here from Seattle are, Dan's truck was not... with a few stops to check wiring and charge up the battery, he eventually replaced the alternator with a spare he happened to bring along...or had previously buried along the way in case he needed it..
Off to Bookings today with a stop at the sand dunes for a ride!!!

Victoria to Tilamook - 455 km (283 miles)

Well we had a great drive today, although it was a bit wet off and on along the road. I am using Rain-x on the windshield and it is working great, no need for wipers or changing blades. Traffic was slow, and the police were out in force. I think we passed 10 or so radar traps, and about 7 had cars pulled over.. We had a late lunch at the RiverView Dining in South Bend, one of our favorite places for pulled pork and seafood..



We arrived in Tillamook around 7:45.. and found some of the SAMOA gang.. here is a link to some pictures from today.. I think some of us had our eyes closed when we were taking them.. so be gentle on the comments!

2011-06-18

yep, it's raining!

Just sitting in the rain at the ferry, wondering why the weather has to be so dismal. I suspect it's because the car was soooo clean! and I mean was... :)

Packed and ready to roll...

The cars are packed and gassed up, ready to head out in the morning to catch the Coho ferry from Victoria to Port Angeles. Checking the weather we could be in for rain on the first day along highway 101 and maybe even on day 2.. not the best way to start the trip. I have coated the windsheild with Rain-X, which works a treat, as the Mini wipers are about as useful and dragging a wet diaper across the glass. The inside is also coated in Rain-X anti-fog which I have never tried before. The heater/defroster in the Mini works pretty good with the extra engine heat from the VTEC, so things should be clear and fog free if we get the rains. Hopefully with sucessful wi-fi in the motel tomorrow night, we'll be posting from Tilamook, OR after meeting up with the Seattle gang of Minis.