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Needless to say, the large contingent from Eastern Iowa MINIs at the 2011 High Plains Motoring Society’s annual event — the Run for the Hills #2 (R4TH2) out in the beautiful Black Hills area of South Dakota had an absolutely fantastic time and memories that will last a lifetime!
A full album of pictures from this wonderful event can be found in the EIM Photo Gallery or you can access the pictures directly using the following link:
Photos from the HPMS Run for the Hills #2 (R4TH2) in the Black Hills, South Dakota, 12-15 May 2011
A single list of experiences and memorable times would fall woefully short — so let’s all contribute! If you attended R4TH2, please click on the Read More button below and leave a comment with your personal list of memories!
See ya soon…
Posted in 
My memories:
– All of the new MINI friends…Mel, Paul, Woody, Mike, Eric, Candy, and extended family
– Seeing distant MINI friends again, especially Steve and Peggy
– The panic voicemail message from Daryl, and the elation when he showed up in Blue Earth
– Black duct tape and stuff hangin’ out… 😉
– Replacing dead FRS radio batteries every 3 hours 🙁
– The Thursday sunset over Rapid City
– Nighttime detailing
– Matching MINI tee shirts
– The crazy stair cases in the Hotel AJ
– Chuck Norris, revisited
– Janis texting ME on what we’re up to by tracking Facebook
– Juliann “walking in” on the guys at the overlook
– All of Daryl’s canned group photos (and I’m so glad he took them)
– Buffalo crossings
– Rest stop at the top of Needles Highway
– Bill “making a new lady friend” at the hotel bar 😉
– More nighttime detailing
– Snow!!
– The beautiful landscape in Spearfish Canyon
– Red Ass Wine
– Finding a fun new road back from Deadwood
– Hearing the story about the near-arrest
– Purple Haze Ale (too perfect to be true)
– Lots of laughs with dear friends
– The Ghost of the Stig!!
– Breathtaking Badlands scenery
– Getting stopped by Minnesota’s best, only 60 miles from home (just a warning, thank goodness)
– Reflecting on how lucky we are that EIM is such a great group
We always enjoy meeting up with our EIM friends. What a fun group of people to hang out with whether motoring, eating, drinking or just comparing mini’s. Every time we get together with the group we come away wishing we lived closer so that we could participate in more of your get togethers. With our motorcycling experience we realize how hard it is to find a large group of people that have similar interests and similar driving habits. Leading a large group of vehicles and insuring everyone is keeping up and staying out of trouble while all the time having fun yourself is a task that can not be managed by just anyone. And again we had great leaders that took the time to make sure noone got left behind and everyone had a good time. A huge thanks to Linda and Gary for leading the group on some great motoring. Looking forward to our next opportunity to meet up with our friends from across the state.
Being able to catch up to my MINI traveling mates in Waterloo.
Meeting new MINI friends along the way.
Traveling to Rapid City as a group (gaggle).
Having lots of laughs.
Speeding (!) along those Black Hills twisties.
Multiple dining experiences with MINI friends.
Climbing the steps to see all those MINIs at the top.
Following Gozer into beautiful territory again and again.
Enjoying Leo in a great setting with great friends.
—lots of firsts for me =)
– My first MINI-Van! or MINI-Voy if you prefer…
– Meeting all the EIM’ers and a few spares (Eric and Candy!)
– Watching a dozen or so MINI’s pass cars on I-90
– Seeing Steve and Juli fit two mini’s into one carwash bay
– My first nightwash of the MINI
– Passing MINI’s going to the wrong way to the Hot Rod Institute =)
– My first real twisties in my MINI!
– Corners
– Corners!
– MORE CORNERS!!
– Driving compliment from Linda! (thanks Linda!)
– Bathroom privacy misshaps… all 3 of them
– Pelle on the radio
– GRAVEL – WHEEEEEEEE!!!
– Did you guys leave without us? =(
– SNOW!
– That’s a LOT of MINI’s – look at all the nice DSM’s!!
– So cold I have to buy gloves, and a hat, and a coat!
– “Best road EVER!” – Pelle
—-followed very shortly by:
– “Step out of the Car, Ma’am!” – Local LEO
—-and:
– “You should stick around, you might have another passenger on your way back” – Local LEO
– Cooperation is KEY Eric!
—it really was an AWESOME ROAD!
– Texting Gary to ask “what if Eric got arrested?”
– Third time is the charm for the Cave – Candy’s way WOULD have been quicker, lol
– Bonding over Top Gear and the Stig with Eric and Candy
– Leaving Rapid City with the EIM’ers – great timing huh?
– Watching Linda in the rearview – taking pictures while standing out of her sunroof
– Frodo, Sam and Golum – thanks for the company Dave and Pelle (and Daryl and Gary before that)
-Memorable, quality time, one-on-one vacation with my daughter Pelle/Red 5.
-Sadness that my other kids could not be with us.
-Meeting and Motoring with new MINI friends!
-Motoring with EIM!!…ANYTIME!!
-Duct tape and “Boot” jokes.
-The Ghost at the hotel must have taken my radio.
-Beautiful, leave you in awe, breathtaking scenery.
-Tunnels through the hills.
-The roads, the roads. the roads.
-Out the window Picture taking while driving…some good but mostly bad.
-Buffalo crossings.
-Mt.Rushmore and the cold, wet, snow.
-Getting away from Mt.Rushmore and the cold, wet snow.
-Jewel Cave? No, Let’s Motor instead…Let’s get pulled over.
-Jewel Cave…”Don’t touch the Cave!”
-Telling the “Pulled Over” story.
-Chuck Norris
-Counter Clerks at Arby’s…can they spell or what..Dairil, Millissa. FOTR similarity.
-Mel & Mike(Gollum & Smeagol)for the company on the drive home. The Ring was cast back from whence it came.
-All the pictures so the memories stay alive.
Sometime in March – anticipation!
In April – more intense anticipation!!
May 7 – beginning real prep, wax, fluids, tires, glass cleaner, gadgets.
Then real intense prep on Wednesday, took the day off.
The trip begins Wednesday afternoon 2:00 p.m.
Bad truck accident on i-80 near Iowa City.
Blue Earth and the Jolly Green Giant.
The nice lady taking care of the breakfast area at the AmericInn.
The couple from Rapid City on their way to Minneapolis for sons graduation.
Meeting new folks at the Blue Earth rest stop.
Great scenery coming into the river crossing in Chamberlain.
More great scenery coming into the Badlands and Black Hills.
Rain.
Wall Drug.
The Alex Johnson.
The Firehouse brew sampler.
The plugged toilet, from the previous occupant, not us.
The cozy room.
812
Funky stairway.
Lots of nice MINI’s on the top level.
Hilarious fun on the radio.
Hilarious fun on the twisties.
The persistent refrain SLOW DOWN.
Met and got to know some great people to hang out with.
The mysterious clinking noise under the car, caught on tape.
Lots of great scenery and wildlife experiences.
Snow.
Depression driving home.
Perusing some fantastic photos.
Looking forward to the next go round.
So many good memories!
Just a few are:
Seeing old friends and meeting new ones.
Snow
Purple Haze Ale.
Purple Haze sun catcher.
Gary driving past a car wash.
Steve NOT driving past the same car wash.
Leo’s boot boo-boo.
Not hearing anyone say “slow down.”
Fabulous twisties.
43 MINIs at Mt Rushmore.
Seeing The Stig.
Jokes about Leo’s boot.
Red 5
Being able to park next to another Purple Haze Metallic!
Sharing my love of all things MINI with fellow crazies-I mean enthusiasts! 🙂
Did I mention Leo’s boot?
Fun people.
Massive amounts of bugs on my windshield on the trip home.
Seeing the same group of guys that we saw on Needles Hwy with non-MINI (but still pretty cool cars: NSX, BMW, Corvette) at a truck stop in SE SD and one of them telling me my MINI was cool.
Can’t wait for the next trip!
Oooo! I thought of another one!
How about those tourists in Custer State Park taking more pictures of us in our MINIs than of the buffalo?!
And another:
An impromptu see-who-can-leave-the-light-faster (definitely not a drag race)early Saturday morning in Rapid City. I lost to a certain green car but not by much!
See-just too many great memories to remember at one time!!
How could I forget the outstanding seafood stew and the wonderful camaraderie at Botticelli’s…and the homemade breakfast bagel at Tally’s across the street that was the size of the plate?
Better late than never!
What a great time, here are a few of our memories.
90 degrees plus when we left on Wednesday
Blue Earth and the Jolly Green Giant
Meeting new friends and old for the journey to Rapid City
Rain all day!
Revisiting Wall Drug
The Haunted Hotel Alex Johnson with 1 working elevator
Complimentary car wash from Steve & Juli. Thanks!
Wonderful sunny day and glorius driving on the twisties.
Snow, Mt. Rushmore, and more.
Excellent leaders for our drives, etc.
Good food and good conversations.
Badlands, and more twisties
Spending time with our son & daughter-in-law.
A safe trip home.