The day broke sunny and hot and continued to get hotter. First was the Rise and Rally at the Remington Horse Track for breakfast and mingling with fellow MINIs from across the country.

Note the campers…

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We signed the Rally MINI bonnet that will be displayed in the plant in Oxford, England where all of our MINIs are made. And added some color to the Rally to the Rockies mural.

Then it was on through the prairie to Dodge City.

Highlights of the trip so far was our sighting of a road runner (the bird, not the car) actually running across the road! Unfortunately neither of us were fast enough to catch a picture – they really do run fast! We checked into the MINI headquarters in Dodge City – the scenic La Quinta

Next it was straight to the car wash as we literally drove through a plague of locusts in route…

Then it was a trip to the Boot Hill Museum to relive the legends of the real Wyatt Earp and Bat Masterson.

If nothing else, read the center tombstone and see what our relatives were up to…

Last we were treated to a gunfight among the local hooligans.

Then it was off for the best steak in town at our long lost relative’s…

That’s the proprietor, Mike Casey in the middle…

Some splendid vittles were had by all.

Tomorrow- On to Keystone,Colorado! That’s where MTTS Rally to the Rockies East meets West for a weekend of fun and relaxation before we all go our separate ways.

We started our day with a delicious breakfast at our B&B.

Then it was on our way via back roads to Norman, OK. We made a brief lunch stop at our general store…

where Rhonda helped celebrate their 50th anniversary.

We are spending the night at the Riverwind Casino Hotel in Norman, OK. A different kind of setting where we enjoyed catching up with other MINI owners but we’re calling it an early night. We’re up and out early tomorrow morning for the Rise and Rally at Remington Park and then the drive to Dodge City, Kansas. Who knows what we’ll see on the road tomorrow?

Beautiful sunny albeit HOT morning for a rise and shine with our fellow Villager MINIS.

Then a trip to the Bill and Hillary Clinton Airport where we got registered for MINIs Takes The States ((MTTS) on the tarmac at the Airport. Over 800 MINIs were starting out from this location.

The rally was headed to Dallas but a group of our Villager MINIs chose to take a side trip to Eureka Springs instead. We had a spirited drive on the back roads of Arkansas.

We had a lunch stop at the breathtaking Cliff House Inn overlooking the “Grand Canyon of the Ozarks”

Then it was on to the “Switzerland of the Ozarks” – Eureka Springs. Rhonda and I had been here several years ago to drive MINIs In The Ozarks. If you are ever out this way it is an amazing and unique town well worth a trip. Rhonda found an amazing B&B where most of us stayed…

Although we found many restaurants were closed on Monday & Tuesday we walked the streets to a great dinner spot and had an amazing dinner. Here are a few street scenes…

This bath house was originally a brothel.

Does it’s sign make you think of anything?

On to OKLAHOMA.

Today started with a drive to Bentonville, AR – home of WalMart and the Crystal Bridges Museum created by the Walton Family. This has been on Rhonda’s bucket list for a long time and our only disappointment was the limited time we had – we will definitely be going back. Click HERE for more info about the Museum. The tree below is stainless steel.

We had a wonderful lunch and, though we rarely post food porn, this setting was just too lovely to pass up…

Next it was off to meet up with our fellow Mini Takes The States (MTTS) rallyers in Little Rock which rolled out the red carpet for MTTS including welcome banners on the lampposts.

Next we paid a visit to the beautiful Clinton Presidential Library with our friends the Longs.

Then it was off to Gus’s World Famous Fried Chicken to meet up with the other Villagers

Tomorrow we head to Eureka Springs.

So MINI KC (that’s the name of our MINI – read the name three times over if you don’t get it at first) has made it to her namesake – Kansas City, MO. It was a boring drive so we switched out drivers several times. Once we checked into the hotel we managed to find some KC barbecue nearby.

After dinner it was down to the gym to burn off some of that good food and close our move rings! Yea us!

Tomorrow it’s onward to Little Rock where we catch up with our fellow MINIs Takes The States rally-mates.

Saturday was a beautiful day for a wedding although with a high of 87 it was quite warm by Duluth standards where it is normally 68 on the average this time of year. The wedding was at beautiful Glensheen mansion right on Lake Superior

Jenni and Nathan looked great and Tim’s officiating came off without a hitch.

Our little family group had a fine showing…

Sorry we didn’t get this out yesterday but the WiFi in the hotel is spotty at best. We had a lovely drive with Geoff and Becca in the MINI (top down) to Split Rock lighthouse on the north shore of Lake Superior.

We made several stops along the way and Becca was brave enough to stick her toe in the 44 degree water ????

We saw many beautiful sights along the way…

Tim’s favorite was “world famous” Betty’s Pies in Two Harbors

After a brief stop at the Split Rock Lighthouse …

We stopped on the way back for a little hiking at the beautiful Gooseberry Falls State Park

Then a quick trip back to Duluth for Nathan and Jenni’s wedding rehearsal. All in all a great day with the kids.

Had a nice drive from Madison to Duluth and a wonderful late lunch at the Duluth Grill where Tim was able to inform the waitress that Duluth was the birthplace of pie a la mode (which of course he had to sample). Then, in to check in at the historic Fitger’s Inn in the former Fitger’s Brewery on the shores of Lake Superior.

Becca and Geoff joined us for drinks lakeside and dinner at this charming property. A great day and evening.

Obligatory MINI photo on Lake Superior. So far MINI KC is over 1,600 miles this trip.

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Today we traversed Illinois and made it to Madison, Wisconsin where we are enjoying the hospitality of Rhonda’s brother Jay Gillespie and his wife Susan.

Had the chance to clean the bugs and road dirt off the MINI – looking forward to adding to the grill badge collection …

Tomorrow up and on our way to Duluth, MN to join Becca and Geoff and celebrate wedding nuptials with Jenni and Nathan.

We’ve completed the first leg of our trip on our way to Duluth, MN by way of Madison, Wisconsin. We followed “The Last Truck to Clarksville” (Tennessee) and the last two hours through Nashville were “challenging”. Fortunately we have the John Cooper Works brake package on our MINI as they were called into action on several occasions. ????

Some folks have wondered how we are packing for a month long trip in a MINI Cooper Convertible. The answer is – very carefully. Below is a picture of the back seat…

Each of us has our own “cube” and we’ve pre-packed each of our days clothes in 2 gallon ZipLock bags. Obviously we’ll be recycling several times and fortunately we have laundry facilities at several of our destinations. Below is a picture of the boot/trunk…

In the boot we have our “go bag” with sundries, pj’s, etc. that we use every night. Tim also shoved in a pillow in case one of the hotel’s don’t meet his high standards!

Tomorrow – off to Madison.