MITO of 2016 was the first time we went to a MINIs In The Ozarks in Eureka Springs even though it was just a nine-hour drive from Huntsville. I am not sure why we didn’t make it in 2015.
We had recently completed our grand trip out west on Route 66 so our camping gear was broken in and familiar to us, so we decided to camp while up there. It would be the longest time in a single campground for us yet so we were excited to see how it all worked.
No good trip starts without Whataburger breakfast biscuits so early in the morning we made our stop at the local Whataburger before heading out.
Once we arrived at the Kettle Campgrounds right outside Eureka Springs it was time to set up our campsite. They put us at the front all the way to the side away from all the RV traffic. It was a pretty nice site with just a bare patch of ground, picnic table, and fire ring to call our own. Fortunately, we were just a very short walk from the showers and bathrooms.
When we bought a tent we opted for a larger model than we really needed. This gives us room for a queen-sized air mattress with lots of room to spare. When camping nothing is really more important than keeping you out of the rain and off the ground.
It did not take us long to get settled into our campsite and get some sleep for the first day of MITO the next day.
MINIs In The Ozarks has a lot of organized drives almost every day MITO is running. We chose the Pig Trail because we had heard that it was a beautiful drive with lots of twisties. It did not disappoint.
A good crowd turned out for our drive and it went through some beautiful areas of the Ozark Mountains. The pace was a little slower than I expected but still spirited in places. There were only a few areas of serious curves that Buster handled with ease.
We stopped at a nice little roadside store which sold Pig Trail merch and took a nice break in the shade. It gave us a chance to talk to friends and make some new ones.
Back at camp, it was getting a little cold so we decided to start a fire. The problem we ran into was that the wood was both a little green and quite wet so starting a fire proved to be a challenge. In fact, it seemed that every time we went to start a fire on this trip we had a difficult time getting it started.
The next day turned out to be a bit of a bummer as I came down with something and felt pretty bad. We were not prepared really for this and wound up going to the nearby Dollar store for some medicine and soup. After spending most of the day sleeping and taking lots of drugs I seemed to get over whatever it was and started getting back to normal.
Now that MITO was over we headed back home already thinking about the next time we could come see Eureka Springs.
