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