I was trying to avoid doing it this way but I'm not really patient today......
If you're going to reply with quote, I'd say do the mods a favor and either edit it down or use the paragraph refs I've embedded instead.
Trip Notes
Miles driven: 8,994
Average Wh/mi: 314
Days traveled: 22
Approximate hours driving: 160
Supercharger sessions used: 74
Approximate hours supercharging: 43
Approximate hours other charging: 26, most of which was over the evening.
Itinerary
Day 1: Leave Northern VA, Somerset PA, Cranberry Township PA, Macedonia OH, Maumee OH, Angola IN, Mishawaka IN, Country Club Hills IL
Day 2: Rockford IL, Madison WI, Mauston WI, La Crosse WI, Albert Lea MN, Worthington MN, Mitchell SD
Day 3: Murdo SD, Rapid City SD, Mount Rushmore SD, Custer SD, Lusk WY
Day 4: Sheridan WY, Billings MT, Big Timber MT, Bozeman MT, West Yellowstone MT
Day 5: Yellowstone WY
Day 6: Bozeman MT, Butte MT, Missoula MT, Superior MT, Couer d’Alene ID, Ritzville WA
Day 7: Ellensburg WA, Burlington WA, Lake Stevens WA
Day 8: Seattle WA
Day 9: Centralia WA, Mount St. Helens WA, Woodburn OR, Detroit Lake OR, Springfield OR
Day 10: Grants Pass OR, Mt. Shasta CA, Corning CA, Vacaville CA, Napa CA
Day 11: Manteca CA, Yosemite CA, Groveland CA
Day 12: Manteca CA, Fremont CA, Gilroy CA, Monterey CA
Day 13: Monterey CA
Day 14: Highway 1, Atascadero CA, Buellton CA, Oxnard CA, Los Angeles CA, San Juan Capistrano CA, Coronado CA
Day 15: Cabrillo Monument CA, La Jolla CA, San Diego CA
Day 16: Rancho Cucamonga CA, Barstow CA, Primm NV, Las Vegas NV, Zion UT, St. George UT,
Day 17: Beaver UT, Richfield UT, Capitol Reef UT, Green River UT, Arches UT, Moab UT
Day 18: Grand Junction CO, Glenwood Springs CO, Silverthorne CO, Denver CO, Limon CO, Goodland KS
Day 19: Hays KS, Salina KS, Topeka KS, Independence MO, Rocheport MO
Day 20: St. Charles MO, St. Louis MO, Effingham IL, Indianapolis IN
Day 21: Fishers IN
Day 22: Dayton OH, Grove City OH, Triadelphia WV, Hagerstown MD, Return to Northern VA
States visited and superchargers used:
Maryland – 1 Pennsylvania – 2 Ohio – 4 Indiana – 2
Illinois – 2 Wisconsin – 3 Minnesota – 2 South Dakota – 3
Wyoming – 2 Montana – 6 Idaho – 1 Washington – 4
Oregon – 4 California – 15 Nevada – 2 Utah – 4
Colorado – 5 Kansas – 5 Missouri – 2 Illinois – 1
Indiana – 1 West Virginia – 1
Parks visited:
Mount Rushmore, Black Hills, Crazy Horse, Yellowstone, Mount St. Helens, Yosemite, Cabrillo National Monument, Zion, Capitol Reef, Arches, Jefferson National Expansion
Teslarati reviews added: 17
Favorite stretches of road:
1.1) Peter Norbeck Scenic Byway, Black Hills SD – It’s a park loop road so speed is not involved. It twists and turns through the Mount Rushmore surrounds and if you’re travelling in the outer loop you get to see Mount Rushmore as you appear through one of the six tunnels carved in the raw rock. Pigtail loops and switchbacks are also welcome road components. We were lucky enough to see a mother mountain goat and her kid directly in front of us on the road as we emerged from one of the tunnels as well.
1.2) Interstate 90 westbound to Butte MT – It’s a twisty stretch of uphill road but very fun to drive with the immediate response you get from the Tesla motor.
1.3) Interstate 90 westbound from Superior MT to Couer d’Alene ID – This has to be a summer road, stretching into the spring/fall shoulders. No way I would want to be driving it in the winter or in any kind of bad weather. But is it a FUN road to drive; you need to have all your wits and be paying attention but the Model S is very capable of handling the drive; it would be interesting to see autopilot try it. The energy graph picture is after we reached the bottom of the pass between MT and ID. It’s up and down, hugging the twisting mountainside, going at stated 75mph speed limit that I had to ratchet back at times because of traffic and safety.
1.4) The drive in and out of Yosemite can be a great deal of fun and hair-raising, if you’re not stuck behind someone else. But it definitely feels effortless in the MS. I have to hand it to the people that designed and built these roads. The fun starts at the 6 mile long Priests Grade then you get a respite until you get to the park and start the decent into Yosemite Valley.
1.5) If the stunning coastline, lighthouses, pelicans and elephant seals aren’t enough of draw, the turns, climbs and hills of Highway 1 between Monterey and Cambria are something everyone should experience at least once. Now having driven it, I’d love to do it as a passenger to see more than the road.
1.6) This is going to sound crazy, but our drive on day 19 started in Goodland KS and as soon as we hit interstate 70 it was completely fogged in until we got about 60 miles down the road, and then the fog lifted over the road surface but only by about 50 feet. That stretch of I70 was flat and straight and the fog made the drive interesting enough to make me wonder what we missed seeing on the drive.
Most challenging charging legs:
2.1) Custer SD to Lusk WY – Driving South Dakota and Wyoming back roads in the dead of night needs to be taught as a college course. Tesla nav didn’t help things as it thought the road was closed and wanted to route us back to Rapid City to charge first before routing us a long way out of the way. Side note that roads had been reopened about a week but style points still deducted. Something kept flying up in front of the car from the roadside during the trip. I believe they were owls (at least three that I SAW, ever so briefly) but I have no way of knowing.
2.2) Lusk WY to Sheridan WY – The trip took 4.5 hours, driving between 50-60 initially but increasing to 75 once we got close enough to realize we were going to make it. If Gillette was open I probably would have skipped Lusk. This leg will forever be remembered in my travels. I probably wouldn’t have tried to do 50mph on the Washington DC beltway but it seemed fine in the early morning on WY highways. Many thanks to Bighorn for advice and support. I’ve also developed a newfound respect for the roadside farm windmills that litter the WY countryside as they helped immensely reading the wind.
Superchargers with the best views:
3.1) I’m hoping you folks in northern California get up every weekend, pack a picnic basket and drive to the Mount Shasta supercharger because it has one GREAT view! By the preliminary build pictures, though, the Strasburg supercharger by me in VA is going to give it a run for the money. You’re sitting in the shadow of the mountain, you have a grassy area right in back of the charger to set up the blanket and the hotel is fairly inviting. If I lived in the area, it would be hard to keep me away.
3.2) Cliffs, canyons and rocks, St. George Utah has it all going on. The only bad view is looking straight ahead at a Starbucks. And you can walk around the parking lot to get better views of the nearby valleys and stunning red cliffs. I liked it so much I came back twice to charge.
Most challenging supercharger to find:
4.1) Hands down, Las Vegas NV. When you’re accustomed to looking for the white supercharger stands, hiding the station in a garage is not going to be the most obvious choice. I’m sure there’s a bit of this that’s my fault as I didn’t do any research on the stations before the trip and therefore didn’t expect to have to find the station in a building’s garage. There are signs, little ones in retrospect, so maybe they can be a bit more obvious. We had to resort to the internet to discover that it was in a building so all’s well that ends well.
Best breakfast (tie):
5.1) Cowboy Café in Sheridan WY (thanks Bighorn) and Black Bear Diner in Grants Pass OR. You folks out west really know how to do breakfast right. Cook up home fries (no hash browns), lay the scrambled eggs with all sorts of tasty vegetables over the top, throw in some spicy sausage, maybe made from elk or buffalo, add some sourdough (yes east coasters, SOURDOUGH) toast and you have a fantastic breakfast. You won’t need lunch and possibly even dinner afterwards.
Best Tesla memories:
6.1) I wanted to visit Burlington WA and San Diego CA to claim having visited the superchargers on the west coast corners of the US.
6.2) Seeing an Arizona Tesla at the Somerset PA supercharger on the first day of our trip.
6.3) Bumping into a Canadian owner on a 10 week expedition at the Rockford IL (I think) supercharger.
6.4) Meeting a Seattle owner at the Mitchell SD supercharger and getting a recommendation for the EMP Museum for our Seattle leg.
6.5) Getting a honk and wave from a Colorado Tesla while exiting the Mount Rushmore parking lot. P.S. If you want a picture of your car and the mountain, park on LEVEL 6.
6.6) Meeting a Florida owner at the Billings MT supercharger. He was on his way to Mount Rushmore having just come from Yellowstone. We were heading to Yellowstone having just come from Mount Rushmore and we exchanged some recommendations.
6.7) We plugged in at the Superior MT supercharger and started to walk away. Two gents wearing Geek Squad attire come running up to us and ask if they can take a picture of the car, saying that they hadn’t seen one since the chargers went in. I asked if they had the charger wired to send an alert since they were so prompt.
6.8) Meeting a new CA owner at Petaluma who was using a supercharger for the first time. We talked about the A/B pairings, the phone app and other Tesla tidbits. He just got the center console installed and graciously showed it off to me.
6.9) At Manteca CA, meeting up with a former VA resident from a neighboring county that now lives in San Diego who had their car painted a custom color (sunset pearl orange, I believe).
6.10) Ed O’Neill (Married With Children, Modern Family) charging his car at Oxnard CA.
6.11) Meeting a CA owner at the Richfield UT supercharger in their way to WI for a family reunion. They brought up that they were trying to figure out charging in WI and I asked if they had the Plugshare app, to which they responded that the husband was one of the early developers for Plugshare and they were very familiar with it.
6.12) Seeing a UT Tesla coming out of the Arches National Park as we were on the way in.
6.13) The IL owner we shared our drive through KS with. We met them originally when we pulled into the Green River UT supercharger and we both ate at the same restaurant. We were detouring to Moab UT and they were continuing to Grand Junction CO so we were surprised the next day when we pulled into our hotel in Goodland KS for the evening to see a car with IL plates charging. By the time we checked in and got settled, the car was gone. The following day, we caught up with the same IL car when we stopped in Hays. We beat them to both Salina and Topeka but not by much. In Topeka we double-teamed a super-duty pickup with three gents that had never seen anyone charging. I don’t think they were ready to convert but I’m sure we got them thinking. Thanks cquail for the company and safe travels to you and your family. We almost did the same thing with a Colorado owner the next day but they were pulling out of Effingham IL when we were pulling in and their car was charging at Indianapolis IN when we pulled in but we left before they came back to their car.
6.14) The MO Volt owner we met at Independence that was researching the Model S for a future purchase. We let his son hook us up to the supercharger. Best wished and good luck Skotty.
6.15) After we check in to the B&B in Rocheport MO they recommend the winery down the street that has a great view of the Missouri River. We bought a bottle of wine, some snacks and proceed to a pavilion where another party of about a dozen individuals was already set up. We’re watching the river go by and my wife starts to kick me and says that the other party is talking about Tesla’s. I listen for a bit and realize she’s right; then I go over, beg pardon for interrupting, and indicate that we’re driving one and ask if I can answer any questions. We get into a discussion about our trip, the car and the charging infrastructure; they rapid-fired questions at me for about 10 minutes. They were a very nice group of neighbors that meets every week at the winery and they invited us to share their picnic. There was clearly one gentleman that was really interested in the car but almost the whole group engaged in the conversation and three of them came up to see the car when we were leaving.
6.16) We pulled into our last supercharger, Hagerstown MD, which is six stall and configured with all the A’s and B’s together instead of A/B. Another car was in the 4th stall and plugged into 1B so I, not really paying attention, park in the first stall and proceed to plug into 1A. It was only after we came back to the car and there was another parked next to me that I noticed the configuration and proceeded to kick myself for the rookie mistake.
Other Tesla thoughts:
7.1) We put on a new set of Bridgestone Turanzas the week before the trip because the Michelin Primacies were done for after 35,000 miles. The Turanzas performed admirably in the driving rains of South Dakota and Montana and were a smooth and quiet ride for the entire trip.
7.2) I wish there was an elevation reading somewhere on the display.
7.3) Big difference in west coast supercharger usage. We saw more MS’s in Ellensburg and Burlington on day 7 of our trip than we saw in all the other superchargers combined up to that point. And Fremont is the Nirvana of all chargers as there was only one spot open when we pulled up, though San Juan Capistrano is a close second as cars were waiting.
7.4) We did Yosemite by charging fully in Manteca, picking up a little insurance while eating at the Ahwahnee and using the Groveland Hotel’s destination charger while staying overnight. We didn’t need the Ahwahnee but we were the only ones using it during the 3 hours we were there so it was nice to patronize it. The valet staff know the cars already and when you drive up they direct you to the right spot.
7.5) I’m wondering if other Teslas have done Mount Saint Helens. I didn’t consider weather when we planned the trip and when we got to the top the summit was clouded over. Is there something to consult before hand that tells you what conditions are going to be at elevation?
7.6) I did most of the driving – well pretty much all of the driving – and I discovered two things. First, I wasn’t really tired at the end of the day. A Colorado owner we met in St. Charles MO conveyed the same thought. Yes, there were long days, but I didn’t feel like I had to get to bed immediately and even more to the point, I felt relaxed and ready for the following day’s drive. I’ve done road trips before in different vehicles with different outcomes, so I squarely thank Tesla for this very pleasant experience. Second, we discovered my wife’s limitations for extended driving – no traffic, no construction, no rain, no hot temperatures, no cities, no curvy roads and no early mornings or late afternoons.
7.7) I am so in love with one pedal driving. It is such a great experience coming down twisty mountain roads and not having to ride the brake. Feathering the exhilarator is such a brilliant feature that I’m fairly certain that all our future cars will have that feature.
7.8) Besides the factory being closed, I’m wishing I researched Hawthorne a bit more because we routed through LA traffic to get there for the specific purpose of seeing the supercharger usage board, only to find that it had been disabled. I’m sure I would have reconsidered the traffic impact had on our plans if I’d have realized the only reason to visit was to charge.
7.9) Passing on two lane roads is no problem in the MS. I’m normally a conservative driver and want to make sure there is no oncoming traffic that can be affected. Even at higher speeds, getting around the vehicle(s) in your lane is effortless and I got more comfortable with that as the trip progressed.
7.10) My max charge actually increased during the trip. It was holding steady at around 254 rated miles before we left but on the few legs that we had to max charge the final rated mile amount grew to 258 without doing anything particularly special to affect that amount during the trip.
Best non-Tesla happenings:
8.1) Realizing that driver’s education classes are inadequate when faced with having to “pass” an oncoming buffalo on a road in Yellowstone Park.
8.2) Being “rescued” from the side of a +135 degree, loose gravel slope after chasing after a pine cone; my wife had to grab a sweatshirt from the car to use as a proxy for a rope. The best part was that the same trees were a mile down the road with both a safe pull-off and no slope to tempt the daring or stupid.
General musings:
9.1) Driving through Yellowstone National Park all you see is warning signs about wildlife on the roadway. As we were leaving West Yellowstone there was another wildlife sign, immediately followed by a sign for the Yellowstone Airport. It got me wondering if flights to the airport were ever delayed due to wildlife on the runway.
9.2) I realize Yellowstone and Yosemite are some of the most popular parks, but based on our experiences there I believe electric vehicle owners are going to have an interesting time integrating with ICE’s. On our travel days, both parks were packed and people were waiting for parking spots to open up. Unless the charging spots are somewhere inconvenient my guess is they’ll end up constantly iced. I was surprised the Ahwahnee’s weren’t but they are in a spot that looks like employee parking and they’re very well labeled. The threat of towing in these locations is moot so that’s not a deterrent here. Input from local owners or frequent park users may be most helpful if the Park Service asks for it.
9.3) We were surprised to see snow on top of Mount Rainier and Mount Shasta; snow in VA in July is unheard-of. But at the same time, on top of a 15,000 foot mountain, it’s probably routine. I’m guessing the locals would say that there should be much more of it there and we were certainly disheartened driving by every CA reservoir/lake and seeing the water levels so low. That and the top local news story most nights being about fires certainly highlights the major drought CA is currently experiencing and makes you hope that things get better for them very soon.
9.4) I grew up next to a Delaware & Hudson railroad switching yard, so I’m familiar with trains. I don’t know whether the western part of the country is so open that you just see more of them or whether there are physically more of them but I’d say we saw at least one a day once we crossed the Missouri River. Some trains we even saw more than once; they passed us when we pulled over to charge and we passed them again once we got back on the road.
