Calgary MINI club forum & 2006 suggestions

[xtremepsionic]

We now have a forum to oursevles over at NorthAmericanMotoring.com
http://www.northamericanmotoring.com...play.php?f=143

Here are my suggestions for 2006, and as always, most people have better ideas than I do, so do fire away and tell us any good locations/activities thats fun and safe for a whole bunch of MINIs and their owners to go to!

1. Meet Location I do like meeting at Crowfoot, plenty of parking space, close to the dealership, and its near all the mountains and twisties out west

2. Meet time Sundays do seem to work great, especially since we have some totally MINI crazy Motoring Advisors like Craig, Sean and Mike No way we can leave those guys behind in meets!

3. Meet activities Looks like most people enjoy twisty roads above all (we did buy MINIs for a reason!), I think a picnic/lunch/bbq kind of destination is quite popular as well. Other activities we can do, like go cart racing, autocross, driver training course would be fun too, but not for everyone.

4. Meet Destinations and routes for 2006 suggestions
(distance is for a round trip from Crowfoot to destination, all routes selected below have nicely paved twisty roads)

1. Highwood Pass (around 400km) great drive for the summer months, since Highwood pass doesn't open until June, this will be something for the June to November months. Great scenery, great twisties!

2. Alberta + BC Meet in Kelowna (about 1200km) during summer, possibly in June when the Bristish car club have their meet there. This will most likely include an overnight stay in Kelowna. Great activities, get to see lots of nice cars, meet the BC folks, and have a blast in the mountains!

3. Canmore lunch (about 200km), same as what we did in November 2005, pretty close to Calgary, a great drive, long enough to be fun but not so long that people feel tired. I think its the perfect distance for most MINI owners.

4. Elbow Falls (about 150km), same as the October 2005 meet. Again, short distance, great twisties, a very good picnic/bbq area for the summer months, alternatively we can have lunch/dinner at Bragg Creek.

5. Lake Minnewanka (about 220km), very close to Banff, great BBQ/Picnic area. Great twisties if we use Highway 1A.

6. Moraine Lake (about 320km), nice restaurant, very fun twisty road from Hwy 1A up to the lake! Fun day trip.

7. Jasper (about 800km), a fun trip for staying overnight, good hiking spot, great drive up Hwy 93.

8. Waterton Lake (about 600km), another great spot for staying overnight, just awesome scenery, great hiking trails, and some gently curved highways and great forest twisties.

9. Turner Valley (about 220km), great twisty roads according to my map, this would be the same route we did in September 2005, plus a little bit more. We can head back to Bragg Creek after for lunch as well.

10. Crowsnest Pass BC Loop (about 780km), realistically a 2 day trip, but doable in 1 day. Drive down to Bragg Creek, Turner Valley, take south on Hwy 22, through Crowsnest Pass, Stop at Fernie, North on Hwy 93, stop at Radium Hot Springs, back on Hwy 1, through Banff, to Calgary.

11. Edmonton (about 600km), ok I'm just joking

Please post if you know of any fun to drive routes thats under 300km for a round trip, as I think 300 is the upper limit for a relaxing Sunday drive for most people, and we do want most people to be willing to come out and drive together Of course, if you have suggestions for a good 2 day trip do fire away!

Links to past meets, discussions, and photos:
Planning: 2006 BC + Alberta Meet?
Planning: Calgary MINI Meet December 05

2005 September - Calgary MINI Meet
2005 October - Calgary MINI Meet
2005 November - Calgary MINI Meet

Pictures: 2005 November Meet
Pictures: 2005 September Meet

Discussion: Best driving roads in Alberta

Maps: 2005 November MINI Meet: Destination Canmore PDF

[MINI Artist]

Geez do we really need another forum to be looking into?
Whats wrong with keeping it all in here?
T

[RS3TURN]

What's wrong with having a dedicated section of a forum and keeping it all there?
Many are on NAM and MINI2, and NAM has more of a north american focus.

[Ferroequine]

I don't really like the look and feel of NAM. Navigation is not as nice. And there's a heck of a lot more resources and traffic on MINI2.

And hey, isn't the MINI a British car? (Well, British flavoured anyway).

[RS3TURN]

Quote: Originally Posted by MiniVee

I don't really like the look and feel of NAM. Navigation is not as nice. And there's a heck of a lot more resources and traffic on MINI2.

And hey, isn't the MINI a British car? (Well, British flavoured anyway).

I disagree with you there, there is a lot more technical info on NAM. Lots more off-topic posts on MINI2. To each their own. There will never be more traffic if you don't give it a chance....haha.

I agree the look/feel could be worked on, but that is minor IMO.

[xtremepsionic]

Quote: Originally Posted by My T Mini

Geez do we really need another forum to be looking into?
Whats wrong with keeping it all in here?
T

Personally I think there is absolutely nothing wrong with keeping everything on Mini2, as there are more traffic over here for us Calgarians.

Maybe I shall mirror that post over here?

[MINI Artist]

I would like to throw in a trip to Drumhellerr and the bad lands.
We MUST do a run down there. The backgrounds for pics would be amazing!!

T

[xtremepsionic]

Quote: Originally Posted by My T Mini

I would like to throw in a trip to Drumhellerr and the bad lands.
We MUST do a run down there. The backgrounds for pics would be amazing!!

T

Very true!

Hey the weather is pretty nice lately... Whos up for a run?

[faster,Tobias!]

A run to the Badlands? I'd be up for that - I have never seen them. But if we are going to do it, we should aim for a couple of weeks away and give folks time to plan for it.

[Ferroequine]

Quote: Originally Posted by faster,Tobias!

A run to the Badlands? I'd be up for that - I have never seen them. But if we are going to do it, we should aim for a couple of weeks away and give folks time to plan for it.

The scenery is much nicer in the spring & summer. I think we'll organize it as one of the "big" runs.

[heli_guy]

I'd be in for drum. Horseshoe canon is always a cool sight to see. I've never really been there in the winter so I am curious what it is like.

Would make a good Sunday drive at the end of the month (hint hint).

As for the NAM or Mini2, I do have enough forums to go through, so one would be better.

[faster,Tobias!]

Yeah, Vee, it's gotta look good with some snow. Or without, as the case may be. Let's do it at the end of the month. I imagine the roads are relatively straight and flat, however (?).

[xtremepsionic]

Quote: Originally Posted by faster,Tobias!

I imagine the roads are relatively straight and flat, however (?).

Very

[faster,Tobias!]

According to 'MotoringFile', the Targa Newfoundland will air at 7pm (Eastern) on Jan. 28th. That means 5pm our time, and I'll be working. Is there anyone that can copy it onto a DVD and get me a copy, pretty pulllleassse?
Here is more info;
http://www.canadiandriver.com/news/060117-5.htm

[Ferroequine]

Quote: Originally Posted by faster,Tobias!

That means 5pm our time, and I'll be working. Is there anyone that can copy it onto a DVD and get me a copy, pretty pulllleassse?

I should be able to give that a shot. Sounds interesting!