Electric Eclipse Road Trip

Part IV

After an inspiring morning searching for agate, viewing migratory birds, and walking an intricate labyrinth on the beaches of Bandon, OR, we set out for Grants Pass, OR on the final stretch of our electric eclipse road trip (we’d intended to go south, but a raging fire near the OR border altered our plans). We didn’t have much margin for error, as there were no charging stations between the coastal highway (101) and I-5. My range anxiety was heightened for the first time, as we discovered “road closed” signs on the most direct route. 

Taking in the ocean front labyrinth in Bandon, OR.

The longer route set us on a trajectory of arriving with about 15 miles of battery capacity to spare (I found that I got about 200 miles of range per full battery charge on the highway, less than the rated 238 miles, which can be exceeded during in-town driving). The road leading into Grants Pass has big ups and big downs. By then, I’d learned how to maximize battery regenerating driving habits – like driving slowly down hills in the Bolt’s low setting (it has only one gear), but this setting amplifies regeneration when you take your foot off the accelerator. I sweated the ups and celebrated the long downhill cruises for the final 30 miles, before pulling in at Fred Meyer again. 

After a lunch with my friend Rachelle and her family at a hip Grants Pass lunch spot, we came back to our nearly re-charged car, and had a long conversation with a local real estate agent, who’d waited around for the chance to talk with the Bolt owner, since he’s excited about getting one himself. 

We had a deadline of getting home by 9 a.m. the following morning for Rosie’s middle school orientation, and it was 6 p.m. and we were still 400 miles from home! Doing the math, I knew it was going to be a short night.

We re-traced our route coming up, and again pulled into Yaks to top off the battery. This time, their station was out of order, so we kept moving, destination Redding. We went back to the Chargepoint station at the back of Carl’s Jr., and went out to a neighboring Black Bear diner while I figured out our plan.

Turns out there were a couple of Level 2 chargers nearby, in auto sales lots. One of them was behind the locked gate, but Toyota’s was wide open and accessible. Yay Toyota! We checked into a nearby Motel. After carting everything in and out of the room that we didn’t want to leave to chance in our room overnight, we pulled out at about 4:30 a.m.

Final charge at the SMUD Building in Sacramento, to get us up the mountain to Tahoe.

Our battery was running super low again by the time we got to Sacramento, but fortunately there are several fast charging options there, including a Greenlots fast charger at the Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) offices. By this point in the trip, Rosie knew where to find the power specs on the charger, and could find the kW and amps ratings. 

This was a station we hadn’t used before, but all I had to do was swipe my credit card and the juice started flowing. I got out the campstove and made some hot coffee right there in the SMUD parking lot, and fed Rosie some breakfast. An hour later – and 170 miles of additional battery capacity -- we were ready to bust a move up the mountain.

We rolled into Tahoe with 40 miles of battery capacity to spare, and went straight to the middle school. I parked and walked Rosie into the gym, where a get-to-know-you exercise was being led by 8th graders to help Rosie and her classmates adjust to the new scene.

Rosie waved goodbye, and I walked down the hallway thinking of how time has flown by. Wasn’t it just yesterday that I watched her walk away hand in hand with a friend to her kindergarten class? Now, she’s halfway through her schooling, and too soon I’ll be waving to her as she walks across the stage to get her diploma. I imagine looking back then, remembering when time slowed down to the speed of the early stage charging infrastructure, giving us the gift of moments together in the sun, holding on to what had been, in anticipation of what was to come, under our one shared powerful, magical, life-giving, car-propelling sun.

This is part four in a four part series. Read parts one, two and three here.

This was blog was posted during National Drive Electric Week (NDEW). From September 9-17, 2017, come take part in a nationwide celebration to heighten awareness of today's widespread availability of plug-in vehicles and highlight the benefits of all-electric and plug-in hybrid-electric cars, trucks, motorcycles, and more. Are you considering going electric like John? Come talk to owners who have successfully done so at an NDEW event near you.