I’m making another cross-country journey – from Oregon to New York!

Tom Smurzynski of Unique Fabricating has been working his magic on my Atom for quite a few months now. In addition to a number of top-secret upgrades (which I’ll reveal in future posts), he has had the car apart for a total inspection, and any part which could have possibly become worn has been replaced with premium-quality new parts. Here’s a pair of pictures of my Atom near the final disassembly:

I’ll be flying out to Oregon on Monday, September 12th and will pick up the car on the 13th. I expect to be going over everything that has been done on the car with Tom for the whole day on the 13th, so I’ll be staying in Medford the night of the 13th.

On the 14th, I’ll be driving the Atom up to Crater Lake for two days as a shakedown, just as I did on my very first Atom trip.

After that, I’ll probably return to Medford to have Tom go over any issues, as well as a torque check on all the critical bolts.

I then plan to drive to Yellowstone National Park, as I did on my second Atom trip. I expect to spend 4 or 5 days exploring the park this time, unlike the “Yellowstone in 1.5 days” rush tour that I did last time. From there, I’ll move on to Bear Tooth Scenic Highway and Bighorn National Forest – this time I’ve packed cold weather gear! The last time I was there, also in mid-September, temperatures dropped below freezing at the highest altitudes and I nearly froze. Also, this time I’ll have a pair of video cameras documenting the drive and should get some spectacular footage of the switchbacks on US 14, which I’ve referred to in the past as “America’s Stelvio“.

From there, I’ll probably head southeast toward Arkansas to visit friends and get some great BBQ, taking my time along the way. Unlike the previous trips, I don’t have a detailed itinerary this time – in the past, I’ve driven through very bad weather in order to keep up with the posted schedule.

As I move across country, I’ll post updates and pictures, as well as letting you know where I expect to be over the next few days. As always, the Atom Across America Hotline phone – 551-580-0100 – will be updated with information as well. See you on the road!

This entry was posted on Saturday, September 10th, 2011 at 6:52 pm and is filed under The Trip. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.