Heading out of Rapid City I was a little worried about
range, because it’s difficult to judge how hilly our route will be and it’s
effect on the range. I can honestly say
the drive today was an absolute joy. We
climbed out of Rapid City towards Lusk, WY and the sunshine and above freezing
temperatures provided us with plenty of range without even needing the
HVAC. The entire drive was gorgeous and
I found myself itching to pull over and soak it all in numerous times. The tiny towns and intersections we passed
were interesting too and brought to mind a handful of classic rock songs to which
we then jammed out.
In Lusk, the supercharger is located at the Covered Wagon Motel. This is by far the most remote supercharger location we visited thus far. We walked across the street to a little diner for lunch and just as we were about to pull out, the motel owners came by to greet us. Apparently we were the first Customer MS to charge at Lusk and they were just as tickled as we were. We shared our excitement over Tesla and headed out with a battery packed full of electrons – our fullest charge of the trip. I made E wait until every last mile was added, because the next portion was going to be a doozy.
In Lusk, the supercharger is located at the Covered Wagon Motel. This is by far the most remote supercharger location we visited thus far. We walked across the street to a little diner for lunch and just as we were about to pull out, the motel owners came by to greet us. Apparently we were the first Customer MS to charge at Lusk and they were just as tickled as we were. We shared our excitement over Tesla and headed out with a battery packed full of electrons – our fullest charge of the trip. I made E wait until every last mile was added, because the next portion was going to be a doozy.
Between Lusk, WY and Silverthorne, CO is Cheyenne, WY;
however, the Cheyenne Supercharger is (barely) not yet open.
This is the first stroke of bad luck this trip.
Fortunately there are some quick chargers in Fort Collins, just a
little further south of Cheyenne. It
would just be a stretch to get there – or so I thought. The 190 miles we covered is the longest distance
thus far this trip, but with the temperatures reaching 50 degrees and the
smooth roads, we made it with almost 60 miles to spare. We actually got our rated range, even driving
at 70+ mph. Yeehaw!
After a non-functioning charger at Discovery Museum, we ended up in Fort Collins at a Nissan dealership. We chatted with the Nissan crew about Tesla and EVs in general for a while, then headed to BWW to catch the end of the game and grab some food. We ate our wings back at Nissan while filling up and headed to Denver, CO for the night. Of note, Nissan dealerships have always been super accommodating despite the fact that we are clearly not there because of any interest in purchasing one of their vehicles. Remember my post from February 2013? When I was in a tight spot with charging, they moved their own vehicles out of the way and put me inside in the showroom where they had another charger. Good people.
After a non-functioning charger at Discovery Museum, we ended up in Fort Collins at a Nissan dealership. We chatted with the Nissan crew about Tesla and EVs in general for a while, then headed to BWW to catch the end of the game and grab some food. We ate our wings back at Nissan while filling up and headed to Denver, CO for the night. Of note, Nissan dealerships have always been super accommodating despite the fact that we are clearly not there because of any interest in purchasing one of their vehicles. Remember my post from February 2013? When I was in a tight spot with charging, they moved their own vehicles out of the way and put me inside in the showroom where they had another charger. Good people.
Rapid City, SD to Lusk, WY
Traversed 152.7 miles, using 57.4 kWh at an average of 376 Wh/mi.
Arrived at 2:45pm in 48 degree weather.
Charged for a little over an hour and left at 254 miles of rated range.
Lusk, WY to Fort Collins, CO
Traversed 188 miles and arrived with 58 miles of rated range remaining.
Unfortunately I forgot to record the rest of the stats.
Traversed 152.7 miles, using 57.4 kWh at an average of 376 Wh/mi.
Arrived at 2:45pm in 48 degree weather.
Charged for a little over an hour and left at 254 miles of rated range.
Lusk, WY to Fort Collins, CO
Traversed 188 miles and arrived with 58 miles of rated range remaining.
Unfortunately I forgot to record the rest of the stats.
Lusk Supercharger
Soaking up the Scenery
It sounds like a fun adventure. Way more fun then shipping the car and flying
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