A few pictures from Day 2 in the Mini VTEC

Day 2 - Ritzville to Boseman - 730km

A good day today with no problem, and a lot of ground covered. The weather was cool and we skirted a bunch of storms or just missed them. I am getting 45-50mpg at about 65-70mph...pretty good mileage. The cooper S is running well, but spraying a bit of oil, so we made sure the breather tubes were clean and not compressed. The new Mini is running quiet except for the air conditioning fan! Got a quick clean of the cars today to remove the road grime. A good dinner at the local Chinese buffet, and then ready for the run tomorrow..

Stoping to clean windscreens

Mike having a shampoo to get oil out of hair

Dave jet washing about

Into Montana

Into Idaho

The bridge over the Columbia River
Lunch in the cafe
We are welcomed in to USA after a bit of bover with customs Mike has a twin with a record, so they gave him the third degree talk, then it was my turn as I am from the uk it cost me $6 to get in, I think they give it back when I go out !!!!!
Peace Arch just inside USA
Coming off the ferry

Disater Strikes the Cooper S!

We had the first breakdown... as Terry in the MINI and me in the VTEC were cruising along, we received a panic call from Dave and Adriene ... the Cooper S had died and they were at the side of the highway, trying to fix it..well of course they broke down just before the nearest exit so, we had to turn around and go two exits back, taking about 20 minutes or more to get to them due to the divided highway

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After a little while of problem determination it was decided that the 'new' Lucas coil that was installed for the trip had failed, and we grabbed the old one, wired it up and it started right up.. then onward.. but we only made it to Ritzville, before we were all ready for a good meal and a sleep..up early tommorrow and off to make up some miles..Mike

Victoria BC to Ritzville WA - 528km

Just arrived in Ritzville, WA, and it's 6:30pm..a little behind where we expected to be..heading for dinner and will update later tonight more with pics and the story behind our delays..Mike
We started out early this morning, leaving at 5:30..
We took the ferry over to Vancouver and headed for the border.. so the first delay happens at the border. You'll have to go inside the border guard says, stuffing our passports into a bag.. and I am thinking..it's that UK chap causing us to do this.. when the guard say.. there is a hit on you as a international criminal, so we have to do more checks! (oh no..not the cavity search!)... and of course your friend here needs paperwork filled out. Once inside they look at me and the description and simply say..here is your passport back.. now you (pointing at Rog) need to fill this out.. a few minutes later and we wewre off..with the border guards crowded aroubndthe car asking how fast it goes! We meet back up with Dave and Adrience in the Cooper S and head off to Bellis Fair mall to meet Terry and Linda...

Then we head off down the I5 cutting off on highway 2 and 203 to bypass Seattle..We have a great lunch in North Bend at Tweeters.. famous for having been used in the Twin Peaks TV show..

When we stopped in Ritzville for gas and lodging, a friendly young lady came up and asked where we were headed.. Winona I said..to which she replied..oh off the East Meets West are you.. obviously she was a mini owner, and yes she has two a classic and a new Mini. After a nice chat, she left, leaving behind a bag of freshly picked cherries for us to have on our trip. I forgot to ask for her name, but we would all like to thank her for stopping to talk and for her generosity!