Today was a long driving day through the desolate, high desert regions of Wyoming and Colorado. The elevation was above 6500 feet most of the time. There were a few sections with lush pine tree forests, but for the most part it was flat, very dry and full of small shrubs. No interstate freeways today, all undivided state and local highways. The biggest town I drove through was Steamboat Springs, a popular skiing destination.
The only crop in this region seems to be hay for feeding the livestock. It is harvested and packed into these cylindrical rolls for storage and transportation. Saw these rolls in several places along the way, either piled up or just scattered in the fields.
Fortunately, charging the car was not an issue driving through this remote area. I started with a full charge, thanks to an overnight NEMA 14-50 charger at the motel. Being able to charge overnight is a big benefit for EV owners and I wish more hotels would provide this. I was able to get it for 4 nights so far. I am also surprised that this benefit is provided free.
I was surprised to find 3 Tesla superchargers available along the way. The drive from the supercharger in Rock Springs, WY to the one in Craig, CO was interesting to say the least. The route suggested by the Tesla navigation was different from the one suggested by Google Maps on my phone. Since the Google route was shorter, I decided to follow that. Big mistake! As soon as the nice highway with 70 mph speed limit crossed from Wyoming to Colorado, it turned into a gravel road that I had to nervously and slowly go through for 20+ miles.
As a consolation, I got to see these bright yellow flowers on both sides of the road!
For the long drive today, I listened to my Spotify playlist of new hindi songs released after the year 2000. These create a different mood compared to the older hindi songs. They have more energy, faster pace, more upbeat, more shrill. I almost feel like driving faster just listening to these songs. My playlist of older hindi songs leaves me more calm and relaxed, at peace and more able to enjoy the surroundings.
The raw numbers for the day:
- 360 miles driving, 3800 steps walking
- 3 Tesla supercharger stops
- 2 states - Wyoming, Colorado
This seems like a real drawback with Google maps to not filer out dirt roads; not everyone owns a Rivian.
ReplyDeleteWaze has the ability to disable gravel/dirt roads using their advanced settings.
Great fun following your EV explorations!! Solo roadtrips can be quite meditative I imagine, but personally I'm not so sure if I could handle it 😊 Googlemaps has sent me on way too many unexpected, unpleasant, and unwanted parts on my road travels. Seems like the frequency seems to have gone up after I cancelled my GoogleOne subscription 😂
ReplyDeleteGhar ki Mooli Daal Baraabar! Switch to Apple Maps!
ReplyDeleteYes, I'll try out Apple Maps!
ReplyDeleteYikes, that would cause so much anxiety! I'm glad you made it through, and that you took some joy from being made to stop and smell the flowers on the way. ;)
ReplyDeleteSo glad to hear that the new playlist uplifted the mood! Haven’t caught up in a few days so enjoying reading- it’s like Netflix binge 😃
ReplyDelete