Planning trip to Yellowstone in 2016, trying to work out charging

[dgpcolorado]

For those following this thread, but not watching others, West Yellowstone has a supercharger now. Should be perfect for charging up before taking a loop of the park.

And a Supercharger Station just opened in Idaho Falls, making getting to West Yellowstone from the south via I-15 very easy.

 

[ccutrer]

And a Supercharger Station just opened in Idaho Falls, making getting to West Yellowstone from the south via I-15 very easy.

Yup!

I took a trip last summer to Yellowstone (coming from Salt Lake area) and stayed in island park at a rented cabin with no charging options. At that time, it would have been impossible to take a Tesla. Now it would be a piece of cake.

 

[ccutrer]

And a Supercharger Station just opened in Idaho Falls, making getting to West Yellowstone from the south via I-15 very easy.

Ok, not impossible. But beyond my tolerance for inconvenience.

 

[DrGuest]

I have a 4 month old 90D and get 285 miles per full charge. I left Bozeman Friday afternoon with a full charge and made it to West Yellowstone Super Charger in the Grizzly Bear and Wolf Discovery center. Public restrooms are about 2 blocks away on the East Side of the Visitor Center. I had Dinner at Cafe Madriz, a Family owned Spanish Tapas place about a 15-20 min. walk North of the Super Chargers. I then drove into Yellowstone and Drove to Jackson Hole for the night. I stayed at the Lexington since they are a Tesla destination Charge but almost got iced by two tour buses that blocked the plug. I was able to pull in between them and stretch the cord to plug in. They only have one 80 amp Tesla HPWC instead of the customary 2 units. It all worked out and I was able to leave early the next morning with a full charge and was able to drive all the way home to Bozeman via Grand Teton/Yellowstone National Parks, West Yellowstone on hwy 191. Driving so slow thru the Parks really helps extend the cars miles. On Sunday I drove to West Yellowstone and Charged fully while having Lunch and drove to Canyon from West and went all the way to Billings Supercharger via the Beartooth Hwy with plenty of miles to spare. I am really psyched that between Billings and West Yellowstone supercharges, all of Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons just opened up very nicely for those with a 90 kWh battery.

 

[Pilot_51]

I'm at the tail end of the trip, on the way back home, currently at the hotel next to the Worthington, MN Supercharger. This was the only place where I experienced ICEing, on my way to Yellowstone. I was done charging, parked in the hotel lot, and had dinner at the Ground Round restaurant hosting the SC. When I came out of the restaurant, I saw a truck with a boat perfectly blocking all 6 stalls. I complained to the restaurant that the truck was blocking all the charging spots, even made it clear that I didn't need to charge but was "covering for other owners who might need it", they found the guy and made him move, then about an hour later when he was leaving he complained to the front desk that I didn't charge my car and I made him move for nothing. My car was parked on the hotel side near the SC and I saw a couple of his buddies standing next to it. I didn't see any damage when I looked after they left, but the experience convinced me not to complain about ICErs in the future unless absolutely necessary.

I had no issue at all with range in the park itself and charging at the Emigrant house on 113V 12A worked very well with our plan to just stay at the house most days and go into the park twice (Old Faithful and Canyon Village) during the week we were there. At one point on the way back from Old Faithful, after the last stop, I achieved 48Wh/mi for about 20 miles of driving mostly downhill. For the Old Faithful trip, I drove 177 miles and used 163RM (82%). For the Canyon Village trip, I drove 149 miles and used 140RM (71%). The curves in the park were a lot of fun to drive through, maybe even more fun than the geysers (the sulfur smell doesn't help their case).

The major challenge on this trip turned out to be the 80MPH stretches of I-90, which the trip planner predicted horribly. On several occasions, I charged at SCs until the trip planner predicted I would reach the next SC with >20% (charging until about 90%), then within minutes of getting on the highway and going 70-75, the prediction tanked by roughly 5% and continued dropping until I had slowed down to 61-68MPH (in the 80 zone). Today, when I reached Minnesota and the speed limit dropped to 70, I noticed the predicted % increasing, so I bumped my speed up to 70 and the predicted % remained stable.

Interestingly, on the way out, the only SCs where I saw other Teslas were Ann Arbor and La Crosse, plus a couple seen from the hotel in Worthington. On the way back, I saw at least one at every SC from Big Timber until Murdo, including the first two or three production Model X's I've seen. First X was at Billings, a black P90D with a temp tag from Colorado, whose owner I spoke with for a bit. Second was a blue one leaving the Rapid City SC as I was arriving, which may have been the same one I found at Murdo with an Illinois plate, which IIRC was also a P90D. I also noticed two S owners getting some good Tesla Time at Big Timber and Murdo.

Anyway, I've said enough for now and I may have more later once I get home. Of course, I'm open to questions.

 

[ggnykk]

I have a 4 month old 90D and get 285 miles per full charge. I left Bozeman Friday afternoon with a full charge and made it to West Yellowstone Super Charger in the Grizzly Bear and Wolf Discovery center. Public restrooms are about 2 blocks away on the East Side of the Visitor Center. I had Dinner at Cafe Madriz, a Family owned Spanish Tapas place about a 15-20 min. walk North of the Super Chargers. I then drove into Yellowstone and Drove to Jackson Hole for the night. I stayed at the Lexington since they are a Tesla destination Charge but almost got iced by two tour buses that blocked the plug. I was able to pull in between them and stretch the cord to plug in. They only have one 80 amp Tesla HPWC instead of the customary 2 units. It all worked out and I was able to leave early the next morning with a full charge and was able to drive all the way home to Bozeman via Grand Teton/Yellowstone National Parks, West Yellowstone on hwy 191. Driving so slow thru the Parks really helps extend the cars miles. On Sunday I drove to West Yellowstone and Charged fully while having Lunch and drove to Canyon from West and went all the way to Billings Supercharger via the Beartooth Hwy with plenty of miles to spare. I am really psyched that between Billings and West Yellowstone supercharges, all of Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons just opened up very nicely for those with a 90 kWh battery.

View attachment 180631

are you being blocked out from accessing the supercharger in this picture??

 

[ggnykk]

I was done charging, parked in the hotel lot, and had dinner at the Ground Round restaurant hosting the SC. When I came out of the restaurant, I saw a truck with a boat perfectly blocking all 6 stalls. I complained to the restaurant that the truck was blocking all the charging spots, even made it clear that I didn't need to charge but was "covering for other owners who might need it", they found the guy and made him move, then about an hour later when he was leaving he complained to the front desk that I didn't charge my car and I made him move for nothing. My car was parked on the hotel side near the SC and I saw a couple of his buddies standing next to it. I didn't see any damage when I looked after they left, but the experience convinced me not to complain about ICErs in the future unless absolutely necessary.

The guy that did the ICEing is a dickhead. Looks like he can't even read the sign.

 

[fwgmills]

I'm at the tail end of the trip, on the way back home, currently at the hotel next to the Worthington, MN Supercharger. This was the only place where I experienced ICEing, on my way to Yellowstone. I was done charging, parked in the hotel lot, and had dinner at the Ground Round restaurant hosting the SC. When I came out of the restaurant, I saw a truck with a boat perfectly blocking all 6 stalls. I complained to the restaurant that the truck was blocking all the charging spots, even made it clear that I didn't need to charge but was "covering for other owners who might need it", they found the guy and made him move, then about an hour later when he was leaving he complained to the front desk that I didn't charge my car and I made him move for nothing. My car was parked on the hotel side near the SC and I saw a couple of his buddies standing next to it. I didn't see any damage when I looked after they left, but the experience convinced me not to complain about ICErs in the future unless absolutely necessary.

Sounds like this jerkoff would have no problem blocking 6 handicap spaces either. I guess I'll never understand people that are compelled to break the rules or are walking around asleep to everything except their own little world of needs.

 

[ggnykk]

Sounds like this jerkoff would have no problem blocking 6 handicap spaces either. I guess I'll never understand people that are compelled to break the rules or are walking around asleep to everything except their own little world of needs.

Unfortunately, quite a lot of people in this world is like that.

 

[ausdma]

Thought I would update on our just completed Yellowstone experience. Bottom line: check PlugShare for new stations at Red Lodge and the Upper Geyser Basin.

First, Red Lodge, MT has added 2 HPWC and 2 Clipper Creeks. We found those on PlugShare after we left Austin and changed our route to overnight in Red Lodge, which worked great. That allowed us to access the park by going over BearTooth pass, which was just incredible, enter through the NE entrance, and go through the Lamar Valley to Mammoth, a simply beautiful drive.

We picked up some range at Mammoth while checking out the Hot Springs, and then proceeded down to the Old Faithful area, where we did not expect to be able to charge. I asked at the front desk of the Snow Lodge if they had any kind of plug we could use and was very surprised when they said they had a Tesla charger! They weren't sure what they had or even where it was, but a determined bellhop tracked it down. I have documented the exact location on PlugShare, but in short there is a Nema 14-50 on the back side of the Obsidian Dorm behind the General Store. Worked great, and really made things a lot better.

After our visit we exited the park through West Yellowstone and headed on up to Seattle, which where we are now. Will reluctantly head back toward the Austin furnace after the 4th.

 

[XLR8OR]

Thank you all. This is awesome info. I've never been to Yellowstone or the Tetons, but am planning my first long road trip there next Spring in my soon-to-delivered 90D. Can't wait.

 

[XLR8OR]

A question for you travelers: if we want to round trip between Silver City and Red Lodge on the Beartooth Hwy, is that feasible in 1day in a 90D?

I expect that it will be too long a day with stops along the way for vistas, so is Red Lodge worth an overnight?

 

[ausdma]

It was brought to my attention today that my PlugShare entry for the Old Faithful area at Yellowstone is no longer there. I have no idea why this is. My advice is to call the Snow Lodge, which is the closest lodging to the where the charger is/was, and ask them about it. They are the ones that told me about it in the first place, though they were very unsure of exactly what they had.

 

[ccutrer]

It should be noted that the Jackson, WY supercharger is currently pending a permit. This makes these two parks even more accessible - you could drive from Jackson, through Teton and Yellowstone, and head out West Yellowstone, without stopping for a charge.

 

[DrGuest]

A question for you travelers: if we want to round trip between Silver City and Red Lodge on the Beartooth Hwy, is that feasible in 1day in a 90D?

I expect that it will be too long a day with stops along the way for vistas, so is Red Lodge worth an overnight?

Red Lodge is a nice little town and is worth an overnight. I've done the Beartooth Highway from West Yellowstone to Canyon to Tower, Cooke- City to Red Lodge to Roscoe, Absarokee, to Columbus and finally to Big Timber, in my 90 D but it takes 12 hours or more to cover that much territory and the speed limit in the park is 35-45 MPH so it takes a long time to go anywhere. Going so slow in the park does help to maximise the Range and I find that the Navigation is quite accurate in predicting % charge at one's destination.

 

[CdnRedRocket]

Hi all, I hope people are still reading this thread as I could use some advice! I am heading from Toronto to Vancouver BC for a conference next April-May, and I would like to pass through Yellowstone on the way back. My (elderly) parents will be coming with me, so camping, and even glamping, is not going to be possible. From reading the various entries, I understand that I should really try to drive Beartooth Highway. I don't want to stress the parents out so I'm hoping that the superchargers will take care of most of our charging needs, but I think I'd like to stay at Red Lodge. Please advise on whether you think the following plan possible to do relatively easily: Start off full charge at Bozeman SC - I have a 90D but it will be 2 years old so I'm not sure how much different a full charge will be compared to a 4 month-old car. Drive to West Yellowstone SC and charge up again? Pass by Old Faithful and either head back to West Yellowstone, or continue down to Jackson SC for the night. Charge for next morning. Next morning, head to West Yellowstone SC to charge fully, or start from there from the night before. Head into Canyon Village, up to Tower, through Cooke City-Silver Gate, end at Red Lodge. Charge overnight at Red Lodge, then head out to Billings SC.

Questions: 1) I am assuming that I might only need fully charge at Bozeman SC and West Yellowstone SC to Red Lodge. Or will I need to fully charge each stop? 2) If Beartooth Hwy is not open and some roads are not open in the May, is the trip even worth driving? I wanted to hit Mount Rushmore on the way in or out, but is that alone worth it if most of Yellowstone is still closed?

Thanks in advance for any advice!