The following is a summary of the boring bits from the Wolseley Across America trip. If you have any questions or comments, I can be reached at [email protected]

The morning of Monday, September 4, 2000, dawned cloudy and damp. It wasn't raining, but had been and, as Dorothea and I made ready to continue along the Lewis and Clark Trail, it was easy to envision what the Corps of Discovery had faced in November 1805. Envision it we did, but that didn't stop us from having a hot breakfast and setting off from Portland, Oregon, in a warm and dry car.

Portland. This Portland is in Oregon. Oregon is the 18th State of the trip. It is also the 2nd biggest at 97,073 square miles (rank 10 in the US), only surpassed by Montana. With a population of 3.2 million (ranking 11th out of our 18) the population density is only 33 people per square mile.

n Kennewick on the evening of August 31st, EG and I are almost a week ahead of the Corps of Discovery. The Corps camped at the meeting of the Clearwater and Snake Rivers near present day Lewiston, Idaho, on October 10th. They dined on what they purchased from the Indians: dried roots, salmon and dog.

Wednesday night, August 30, 2000, EG and I spent the night in Missoula, Montana. September 10, 1805, the Corps of Discovery spent the night in what is now Lolo, Montana, just south of present day Missoula. The next day we both headed west.

I need to back up a bit. Although I-15 between Great Falls and Helena in itself is just another freeway, the country through which it passes can hold one's interest - what could be seen of it because of the smoke. The road follows the Missouri River and even crosses it several times. It is easy to use your imagination and see the Corps of Discovery trying to maneuver the heavy canoes against the river's flow.

Monday night the 28th left me in Glen Dive, Montana (having traveled from Pierre, South Dakota that day) about to poke into EG's dropping gas mileage. PART 20 also left Lewis and Clark leaving the current-day Pierre area heading out away from the Teton Sioux.

Once dinner the 27th was out of the way it was time to dive into EG to see why she was running a bit "off," and, while I was at it, it was time to change the tarp. It had flapped around for 3,900 miles since leaving Miami and had worn through in a few spots. I was heading for the Northwest. It might rain.

It was Sunday the 27th. I was two days out of St. Louis and had easily covered over 500 miles. Lewis and Clark took well over two months to cover the same distance. They spent four days in this area south of present day Omaha, and continued to marvel at the vast prairie devoid of trees. By July 27/28 they passed through the area now known as Omaha and shortly after encountered a lone Indian. Through him they arranged their first formal meeting with Indians for August 3rd at the area that became Fort Atkinson. Their thoughts on the Omaha area? Clark wrote,

Saturday the 26th was to be a short drive, but I still got an early start. I had to get around Kansas City (and Kansas City, there's one in Kansas, too) before the Saturday working corporate drones clogged the freeways. The day's route would take me from Missouri to Kansas (briefly), back to Missouri to Iowa and finally into Nebraska outside of Omaha. I was still on the trail of Lewis and Clark following the Missouri River and heading for a meeting with Mini owner Frank Grover.

Something tells me these have been used for a rallye or two in the past. Eventually, Karl led me to Highway 94 just on the north side of the Missouri River where he let me lead for a while until he had to turn off and head back. Horn honk, lights flash, and a wave and EG and I were off to cross Missouri and get to Lees Summit just outside of Kansas City.

The 24th I got an early start. I wanted to get to St. Louis to connect up with the MADMEN before the afternoon traffic crunch started and all the corporate drones hit the road. Most of the planned route was on freeways, so, for the most part, the drive was going to be hot, humid and boring. EG decided to make it just a bit more exciting for me. More of that later.

Knoxville, Tennessee. I arrived the afternoon of the 22nd to the west of Knoxville near the junction of boring I-75 and equally boring I-140 and checked into a motel for the night. Before I broke out the computer to makes some notes about the day's drive, I called Hugh Cannon. Hugh's not only a Mini owner in the area, but I was to find out that he owns two of my favorite Minis: Mokes (just don't tell EG!).

We left EG and me all but coasting into Asheville just off the Blue Ridge Parkway desperately looking for a gas station and seeing a sign indicating Asheville was 5 more miles. I turned the corner, and there was a gas station! Sort of makes up for driving up Mount Mitchell to see the sights and only seeing clouds.

Sunday the 20th promised to be a great day. That is the day I started down the Blue Ridge Parkway. Up until a couple of months ago, I'd never heard of it. It's certainly no secret to anyone who lives within 500 miles of it, but, hey, I'm a Left Coaster.

Every State visited by EG and me has much to offer, more than could be seen in a short period of time. Virginia certainly fits in that category. The plan, as you'll recall, was to spend Friday the 18th playing tourist. One small area around Jamestown, Yorktown and Williamsburg could occupy a week. I stretched the trip to give it a day. Just a taste, but probably enough to entice me back someday.

Just to put North Carolina in perspective with the other three states (and you thought I was going to forget about demographics and history, didn't you?) its population of about 7.5 million puts it just less than double its neighbor to the south, South Carolina, and about the same as Georgia.

I've been asked to comment about how EG has been performing to date, so this article will put the trip out of Charleston on hold long enough to recap how the South African Wolseley is performing north of the equator.

Wednesday the 16th saw me turning my back on Charleston, with some regret, and heading north along 17 with the ultimate destination for the day of somewhere in the Outer Banks. Well planned, as usual, you can see. Highway 17 runs near the Atlantic through a national forest for a while, although you'd never know it -- the ocean being near, that is. The forest is obvious.

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Before we get back to Florida, I dug up some more detailed information about this unusual car. Ryno Verster of South Africa (and from whom I bought the car) has been digging around trying to come up with a history of the cars.

When I last left off I was heading up boring old I-95 towards Satch's. It was late afternoon when I arrived. Like the other places I've visited, Satch's was easy to find by the Minis in the driveway.

Unlike Sherman, I drifted quietly into Georgia on Sunday the 13th, and headed up the quickest route towards Savannah. (Sherman wasn't so quiet, but he, too, headed for Savannah.) Unfortunately, that was I-95, and for the most part this was the worst section. But, I had one stop I wanted to make and I wanted to make sure I got all the way to Savannah so I could spend time there the next morning.

We are just about out of Florida, but before we go, how about a few more Florida facts? Tough. You're going to get them anyway!

While waiting for the Mini to arrive I took a few drives and played tourist. Museums, beaches, everglades. All the usual stuff. Do it if you ever get the chance. Here's a challenge for you though. Every chance you get ask whomever you are talking to if they are native Floridians. You won't find many!

What can I say about Florida; except, it is everything you've ever seen or read about it. It is almost a cliche of itself. Think of LA with humidity, bugs, alligators and the worst drivers in the US. Here's a tip for car makers. You could save a lot of money on Florida bound cars. Well, not a lot per car, but by leaving out the turn signal bulbs on each car it would add up. Nobody uses them anyway. OK, that is not entirely true. Occasionally, I'd see someone driving down the freeway with the left turn signal on, and on, and on... I finally figured it out. It is a handy place to hang the cell phone on those few times when it is not being used.

This is about driving a Mini across America. It is about what happens along the way and about the Mini owners I am fortunate enough to meet. Some travel commentary may sneak in now and then, but Minis are the main theme. As long as all the new technology holds up (laptop, digital camera, Internet access) and all the old technology holds up (in the form of one Wolseley  1000...and driver), dialogue and photos will get posted as we make our way across the US.