Utah Expedition - Day 1 - Sep 4

Well, I was finally able to coordinate 2 contiguous weeks away from work this year so I decided to go for the trip I had planned last year but that got put on hold.

The general plan was to head further west than my 2007 trip to Colorado and explore areas west of The Rockies. Areas of interest were Idaho (why Idaho? more on that later), the north rim of the Grand Canyon, and of course, Utah.

So logically it would be best to start in the North out there and head South and hope for somewhat cooler weather into later September.

As usual, a successful trip by any Canadian traveller should always start at Canadian Tire.

For readers that may know a little about my Trailblazer, you may notice a few new things on there. The roof rack actually has the PIAA light wired up!

t sure took me long enough but I finally was able to get the wiring done (fuses - relays - switches) in a nice clean install using the rear power lead next to the rear fuse panel (under the rear seats). The full write-up is here.

On the Surco Safari Rack itself, I now have the the Camping Lab awning instead of the Hi-Lift jack. The awning worked great earlier this year on my TECORE/MORA trip. The jack is now on the new rear spare tire carrier from C.B.I. Offroad Fab, the supplier that James Downing worked with.

Both the axe/shovel mounts and how the Hi-Lift mounts to the tire carrier use cool locking hardware (originally for an H2) from Gobi Racks USA. More on that and the new (much more sturdier) way I have mounted the Surco Safari rack to the Trailblazer rails is here. There are also some cool powder coated surplus ammo cans up there for storage.

And finally the new wheels and tires. I got an itch last year to update them. The American Eagle rims and Mickey Thompson Baja MTZs were from my Old Blue Trailblazer that got crunched by a tree. The MT tires have always been outstanding, getting me through lots of different kinds of terrain. But the wheels started to look somewhat ragged (paint chipping, constantly cleaning the rust from the caps, and the fake beadlock ring getting duller and duller).

What I really wanted were the Teflon coated rims that American Racing produces. And when they released a new design called the Predator earlier this year I decided to go for it. I also decided to go up to 17" rims, stay at 33" diameter tires, but go from 11.5 width to 12.5. As for tires, I decided to give another manufacturer a try since I needed a whole new set for the 17" rims - Nitto Mud Grapplers.

Map References - Day 1 - Sep 4

September 4 track:

• Google Map
• Google Terrain
• Google Satellite Hybrid
• OpenStreetMap

* large files - 1800 x 1200

View Sep 4 track in larger window.

So the logical choice to get across to Idaho would be to head north in Canada, probably to Sault Ste. Marie, cross the border there (Northern Michigan), and head west south of Lake Superior.

However, a couple of things forced my plan to crossing at Niagara Falls. One, I had a few things waiting for me at my US mailbox that I would need for the trip. And two, I really wanted the neoprene Hi-Lift jack cover (which I could not find anywhere locally). Since I was heading south anyways, I decided to order the jack cover from www.4wd.com and pick it up on the way in Columbiana, OH.