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EIMer Jay T. represented the MINI faithful at the recent Great River Region SCCA Autocross #4 held in Mt. Joy on May 28th. Both he and the MINI were looking good! Enjoyed seeing the great 360 degree panoramas and video clips circulating in his Facebook circles.

A few more photos have been added to our Photo Gallery and can be found at this link:

Jay T. photos from the GRR SCCA Auto-X #4, Mt. Joy, 5-28-18

Well done Jay!
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Our annual out-of-area May drive took place last Thursday thru Sunday (May 17-20) and this year’s event took us to the Ozark Mountains of north-central Arkansas. The EIM MINIs in a Mountain Home managed to meet and often exceed our own lofty standards for fun times and great memories. As you can see from the photos from our trip (link provided below) it was a superb time filled with unique experiences and adventures.

Our base of operations at the Buffalo River Lodge provided our group with exclusive access to the resort and all of its amenities, located ~14 miles south of Yellville, AR smack in the middle of a plethora of great mountain motoring roads and just a stone’s throw from the scenic Buffalo River. The proximity to the river allowed several folk in our group to take advantage of the Lodge offering of an amazing Friday kayak trip (with beautiful, clear, cool waters and current sufficient to result in two capsizings (Cindy C. and Peggy J., both documented on Steve B.‘s GoPro) and participation in an ad hoc rescue of a stranded canoe and rounding up their lost belongings, complete with Steve B. pearl-diving to the river bottom to recover a sunken treasure. Except for Cindy’s lost shoe and sunglasses, none were the worse for wear.) The remainder of the group (the “dry” ones) enjoyed some thrilling motoring through the rocky bluffs to the south and west, with a nice lunch stop in Clinton, AR. The end of the day Friday was much like Thursday and Saturday — encamped around the fire pit on the grounds, taking on food and beverage, and having a fun time sharing all of our experiences from the day’s activities.

Saturday’s drive headed east through the Buffalo National River area south of Mountain Home, AR with an unexpected but fun entry in the Pioneer Days Parade in Norfolk, AR (We just happened to arrive at the right time and hooked up at the tail end of the parade. Most of the locals thought our ad hoc entry was pretty cool!). That was followed by a trip over the historic swinging bridge (!) in Allison, AR; lunch at a neat local BBQ joint just north of Mountain View, AR, and then some spirited motoring back to the northwest to a mid-afternoon refreshment stop at Gravity BrewWorks, a thriving craft brewery seemingly in the middle of nowhere. The warm temperatures supported a swim call at the river after our return, followed by a cookout at the Lodge, more time around the fire pit, and disbelief that we had to head home the following day.

Our thanks to all of the participating EIMers who made this such a fun and memorable event!

Photos (including those from the kayak trip) may be found in our Photo Gallery and are directly accessible using the following link:

Photos from the EIM MINIs in a Mountain Home, Yellville, AR, 5-17-18 to 5-20-18

The Central Iowa British and European Auto Fest happens next in Des Moines on Sunday, June 3rd. See the Event Calendar for the entry form. We’ll also be announcing soon a local lunch gathering for our MINIs that will happen later in June. Hope to see you there!
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Photo Credit: Jeff Noe
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With Spring finally showing some evidence of arrival and despite the cool temps and remnants of snow in the shade and on the north-facing slopes, it was a great joy to get out on the road in our MINIs for the 11th EIM Border Skirmish Drive (BSD) this past Saturday. Our rendezvous in Decorah at the trout hatchery offered some nice social time as well as fish feeding and Decorah Eagles watching (even live on our smart phones while standing under the nest). Even though northeast Iowa and southeast Minnesota had received a foot of snow three days earlier, the Driftless Region roads were amazingly clear, dry, and as twisty as ever. We enjoyed our lunch stop in Spring Grove, MN at the Ivy Grove Cafe followed by some of the best roads of the day. MN-76 north of Caledonia, County Road 13 west of Houston, and MN-43 south of Bratsberg are always among our local favorites.

Our final stop back in Decorah at the world famous Toppling Goliath Brewing Co. was a real treat, both in terms of the experience and the libations. Our group extends its sincere thanks to Director of Hospitality Josh White for the cheerful gift of his energy and time in providing us a special, dedicated tour of the TG Brewery operations. It’s truly an amazing place.

Photos from this event may be found in our Photo Gallery and are directly accessible using the following link:

Photos from the 11th EIM Border Skirmish Drive, Decorah and vicinity, 4-21-18

Our next events include the Quad City Gearheads Spring 61 Kartway Cruise Night from Davenport to Delmar on May 5th followed by the EIM MINIs in a Mountain Home down in Yellville, Arkansas on May 17th-20th.

Fun MINI times ahead!

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After a two-week delay due to Mother Nature’s poor sense of humor (i.e., Springtime snow) it was nice to have blue skies for our EIM Spring Fusion Meet, Eat, and Race this past Saturday in Marion. It was great to enjoy the company of such a large number of MINIs and MINI folk. Our lunch at the Cibo Fusion Restaurant was superb, and the follow-on kart racing at nearby Speedeez Karting was an absolute blast.

EIM extends sincere thanks to Louanne & Phil N. for all of their planning and organization of this event, not to mention their accommodation of the revised date. It was an excellent choice of venue and much appreciated by everyone!

Photos from this event are in our Photo Gallery and are directly accessible using the following link:

Photos from the EIM Spring Fusion Meet, Eat, and Race, Marion, 4-7-18

Hope to see many of you on 4/21 for our first drive of the year, the traditional April Border Skirmish Drive. Can’t beat those Driftless Region motoring roads!

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Our thanks to everyone who withstood the sometimes wet, sometimes icy roads and managed to join us for the 2018 instantiation of the EIM Quad Cities Meet-n-Eat this past Saturday in Davenport. We were glad to have all of the great company!

Thanks to everyone for bringing along such a nice variety of treats to share. Special thanks to Steve & Juli B. for the always-appreciated Bent River libations. It was fun to have Kelly B. in the house, as well as the unexpected visit by Jay, Kristin, & Darla. Most of all, we thank Sandy & Denny B. for being such superb and gracious hosts again. Loved the special decor, hot sandwiches, and slideshow!

Photos from this event are in our Photo Gallery and are directly accessible using the following link:

Photos from the EIM Quad Cities Meet-n-Eat in Davenport, 2-24-18

Next up is Marion on March 24th. Food and karting. Be there or be square.

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It’s safe to say in our eleven years of existence we may never have had better weather for a January meet-up. The glorious skies and temperatures certainly added to the enjoyment at our EIM Meet-n-Eat at the Wig and Pen Pub held this past Saturday in Iowa City. Sincere thanks to all of the folks who came out and joined us for the good food and camaraderie.

Special thanks to Jake M. and also to Jeremiah & Britney S. and their two cute munchkins for making the trip over from Des Moines and for allowing us a close look at the F60 Countryman in both “S” and JCW livery. Congratulations to Cindy C. who blazed through the word scramble in short order and crushed the competition. For those who couldn’t attend and would like a crack at it, here’s a link:

EIM MINI Cooper Word Scramble

A few photos from this event have been added to our Photo Gallery and can be accessed directly using the following link:

Photos from the EIM Meet-n-Eat at the Wig and Pen Pub, Iowa City, 1-27-18

Hope to see you in Davenport on February 24th!

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Thanks to everyone who joined us in Dyersville on 11/11 for our final get-together of the 2017 calendar year, the EIM Meet-n-Eat at the Country Junction. It was great fun looking back at all of the memories made over this past motoring year and sharing ideas for potential new adventures in 2018.

Congratulations to all of the annual EIM awardees who were recognized during our luncheon, and thanks to those who allowed us a laugh or two at their expense…always in good fun! The set of 2017 awards can be viewed at the following link:

2017 EIM Annual Recognition Awards

Congrats also to Brian & Tracy K., our 2017 EIM Motorists of the Year. Their two MINIs covered a lot of ground in 2017!

Photos from this event may be found in our Photo Gallery, directly accessible via the following link:

Photos from the EIM Meet-n-Eat at the Country Junction, Dyersville, 11-11-17

We hope all of our MINI motorists and their families have a joyful holiday season. Our next scheduled gathering is our traditional January meet-up at the Wig and Pen Pub in Iowa City, which is planned for Saturday, January 27th. See you then!

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EIM extends its sincere thanks to Jake M., Laura R., Jeff G., and all of the folks at the Central Iowa MINI Club for planning and leading this years 15th Annual Iowa MINI Cooper Fall Tour this past Saturday. The drive began in Pella and wound its way across south-central Iowa to a lunch in Eldon and a finish in Iowa City. The wet conditions did nothing to damper the spirits of the motorists or the fun time together.

Our Photo Gallery includes several Facebook-harvested photos of the drive. Credits are due to the motorists who shared them…thanks! They are directly accessible using the following link:

Photos from the 15th Annual Iowa MINI Cooper Fall Tour, 10-14-17

Our final event of 2017 is our annual Meet-in-Eat in Dyersville on November 11th, where we’ll look back on the year and reflect on all of the fun times. Hope you can make it!

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