    Cross-Country Cooper, Day six. Click image to enlarge |
Day 6: Kamloops to Vancouver (356 km)
Full of surprises, this trip. Kamloops, for instance – what a nice place! The views are spectacular, and most homes seem to be located in order to have one. My accommodation turned out okay, even though the clientele was a little, shall we say, colourful.
It’s a hilly community, though, which gives me an opportunity to mention the Mini’s “hill-holder” manual transmission. Such a useful feature when stopped on an incline, preventing the car from rolling back in the split second it takes to move your foot from the brake to the clutch.
   Cross-Country Cooper, Day six. Click image to enlarge |
Although the day began under bright sunshine, I took note of signs on the highway warning that the weather could change quickly at these high altitudes. Even so, this being spring, at first I thought the white objects floating around were blossoms, or some kind of puffy mountain pollen. Who’d have thought, especially after the 2010 Winter Olympics, that snow would be falling here in late May? But there it was… snow, quite heavy at times, and right after I’d washed and detailed the Mini in preparation for its grand entrance.
For some reason I thought that the Rockies were largely behind me, but the highway to Hope, BC, thence to Vancouver offered fabulous mountain views (once the snow stopped) and excellent vistas, although very few places to stop and admire them.
  2010 All-British Field Meet; the author and his Mini tester at the 2010 All-British Field Meet. Click image to enlarge |
Arriving in Vancouver was somewhat anti-climactic, as you connect with Highway 1 at Hope and it’s a multi-lane road all the way there until your motion is slowed abruptly by lane closures, construction, huge traffic volume and narrow bridges.
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The ABFM, the reason for the trip, did not fail to deliver. Leafy trees, flowers, hundreds of cars, a pleasant sunny day with a few grey clouds to add a little drama. I highly recommend it. And indeed the Mini did win the Long Distance Award, travelling 4,557 kilometres via google maps (not including local diversions), and 4,775 km on the odometer.
The Mini seemed quite ready to head back, having suffered only superficial wear on the trip. My understanding is that this car will be retired from the press fleet, and retailed at Mini Yaletown in Vancouver, so some lucky local will end up with the Cross Country Cooper. Check to make sure they left the floor mats in the trunk…
