More than 1,000 Mini Cooper enthusiasts, who call themselves “miniacs,” and over 600 of their cars will roll into Durango on Saturday at the end of the first leg of their “Mini Takes the States” tour.
From 7 to 9 a.m. Sunday, the miniacs will gather at the Fort Lewis College football field for the “Rise and Rally,” where drivers can eat breakfast and check in with the “triage garage,” a group of Mini Cooper technicians who travel with the group.
After the rally, a police escort will take the group out of town and they will start their drive up the Million Dollar Highway, including Red Mountain Pass, to Grand Junction, the next stop on their journey.
Mini Takes the States was started in 2006 by Mini USA, a subsidiary of BMW, and has taken place every two years since then, with a different route each summer. The trip has run from coast to coast, and crisscrossed everything in between.
This year, the group will begin in Albuquerque and finish nine days later in Seattle, Washington.
They make an effort to avoid major interstates and plan their routes mostly on smaller highways and back roads.
“One of the main things we really look for is good, fun, twisty roads that have good surfaces, and create a really good experience for our customers,” said spokesman Rob Duda.
Along their routes, local Mini Cooper owners often join for a portion of the drive, but not the whole trip, and so by the end of the journey, about 3,000 Mini Cooper owners will participate.
All drivers are responsible for their own gas and lodging. Some of the drivers camp and some book hotels or Airbnbs.
This year’s theme is “Camp Mini,” so according to the Mini Takes the States website, the event should feel like summer camp, a place where friendships are built around a bonfire.
In keeping with the theme, this year’s charity partners are Keep America Beautiful and the American Camp Association.
As they drive through several National Parks in the American West, the miniacs will help raise money for both organizations, as well as participating in a Keep America Beautiful cleanup and taking in a speech from the American Camp Association on their work in Salt Lake City.
