Rockies

So in case anyone else is thinking of driving from Cheyenne to Silverthorne without stopping to charge in Denver --- Just Do It. I was anxious so set my cruise control at 65 for the whole trip (speed limit was 75 Cheyenne to Denver) and after starting with 258 rated miles in Cheyenne I arrived in Silverthorne with still 74 on the dial. So despite an elevation increase of 2667 feet, and watching the dashboard graph periodically tell me I was using 900 Wh/mile when on the inclines, when going downhill I was "making money". In fact, once you get to the tunnel at Loveland pass, you gain miles on the dial in the remaining 11 miles to Silverthorne.

The Supercharger in Silverthorne is a bit more scenic than the one in Cheyenne!

Since it is net down hill beyond Silverthorne, I skipped the charger in Glenwood Springs and drove straight to Grand Junction (4165 feet less elevation than Silverthorne). Probably can't do that going east but no worries going west. Although it was 181 miles of road, the car only used 161 miles of range. 

I've got two things to say. This car is SPECTACULAR to drive in the mountains. None of that push-on-the-accelerator-and-no-more-oomph-there I have experienced in other cars. It just goes. Then on the downhills instead of worrying about riding the brakes and lighting them on fire, the regenerative braking keeps you at your set speed and adds range to your battery. The only times I had to touch the brakes were when I was passing semis and they made me nervous so I wanted to turn off the cruise for a moment. All I had to do was steer.

The other thing is that driving along I-70 in the mountains is unbelievably beautiful. But probably you knew that. I just randomly aimed the lens of my camera through the car windows and pushed the button without looking through the viewfinder and fabulous images occurred.

Apparently there is a dust mote or something inside my camera though since all of the images have a black blob just off center in the left lower quadrant. Hmmmmm.

There are "fall colors" in the mountains too!

Grand Junction

I had planned to stay in Green River for the night but no motels except one that the two most recent comments in TripAdvisor were "filthy" and "don't stay here". So I kept driving to Richfield, UT where there were nice rooms aplenty. When I arrived there was, of all things, a DeLorean parked in front of the check-in door. It was all hideously tricked out and people were talking and gawking and taking pictures. I just slid past silently into the night...

I suspect the drive from Green River to Richfield would have been lovely but it was dark as sin. Occasionally a rock face next to the curvy road would loom into view and startle me. The elevation is 1300 feet higher in Richfield so takes more energy to get there than the mileage would predict. 

Chargers are hard to find in the dark. Although the Tesla map aims you to the right vicinity, they are tucked away in funny corners of parking lots and often screened by bushes or trees. I have learned to look for the fenced-in transformers rather than the thin white boxes that hold the cables.

This was in the River Museum parking lot in Green River, Utah, which is also where the superchargers are.

Saturday morning after a little sip of juice at the Richfield charger I drove down the road to Beaver. There is not much here, but the supercharger is the easiest EVER to find since it it about 10 feet from the on/off ramp of the highway. I learned that I-70 ends in the middle of Utah. Not at a cliff face or body of water. Just an ending. And that the speed limit on I-15 is 80. Sweet.

Some guy just drove up to my car, snapped a photo of me sitting here charging, and drove away. He didn't stop for a car wash. He didn't even wave!

I should have put this photo in South Dakota or Wyoming. I drove past a bunch of these fields before realizing they were sunflowers. I suspect they would have been really something a month or two ago but now all had bent heads and looked somewhat forlorn...