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Date:         Sat, 17 Jul 2010 20:24:27 -0600
Reply-To:     Ken Wyatt <57skibum@GMAIL.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Ken Wyatt <57skibum@GMAIL.COM>
Subject:      Final Tire Tour / New shoes; New Heart for the 521 Bus
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1

Finally after about ten years or so of running around on a set of Michelin XCS tires, I broke down today (my wallet, not the 521 bus) and invested in a set of the BFG 195 75 14 All Terrain AT/KOs.  Wow, it's like power steering to drive now.  The old tires were well used but had quite some thread left.  They were old and round and cracked, with sun wrinkles much llike myself.  Sadly no longer made, of course.

But, they were awesome tires back in the day. Never once had a flat in ten years of desert and mountain driving.   On and off road all over the intermountain west from Montana to Arizona; Colorado to the West Coast.  Yes, these old tires had gone some places, places many tires only dream about I'm sure.   But they also sat countless hours in the hot western sun patiently waiting for that one next trip.

With a brand new engine needing some miles,  we took a final tire tour last weekend leaving  Salt Lake City in the late afternoon  under a blazing sun .  Pointed it east up I-80 to Highway 40 where we drove through Heber City and up Lake Creek Road into the southwest Uintah Mountains and national forest leaving pavement behind.  It was up, up, up, and up.  Did I mention the UP?

We finally summited and found a nice solo camp at about 9000 feet. (And no one anywhere on this Sunday eve)  It was nice and cool up there on a hot summers eve.

Next morning was about a 20 mile drive downhill into the Strawberry Valley for breakfast at the lake's shore.  From there up and over into another valley on fairly well maintained dirt to Highway 6/50 near Tucker, UT and then onward to the infamous Skyline Drive that ride the crest of the Wasatch Plateau. For a complete trip blog and visuals one can visit here. My sweetie captured it all for the world and I kept busy watching oil tem ps and pressures while piloting the 521 Bus.

http://nonyabusiness.vox.com/library/post/two-days-and-three-hundred-miles-a-camp-trip.html

It was actually 350 miles in 2 days, about half dirt, half pavement, numerous 7000 - 9000 foot passes., awesome scenry and wildlife.

Such a great trip to say farewell to a fabulous set of old tires and to shake down the van's new heart which didn't miss a beat and performed flawless. Sweet!!

Looking forward to seeing where the new tires choose to take us. Cheers. Ken 82 AC Westy (New shoes and a new heart : <) SLC, UT


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