Skip to main content

Day 34: Carlsbad, New Mexico

The focus of the day was to get to Carlsbad and then ensure I get the Tesla fully charged so that I can make it all the way to El Paso the next day. One of the few days in the road trip when EV range anxiety was top of my mind.  Left my hotel in Childress, Texas and fully charged at the Tesla supercharger there before hitting the highway.

Getting to Carlsbad became easy since the Lubbock supercharger was working. I experienced driving through the flat countryside of north Texas, with not much in the way of towns or even villages.Seeing the few oil rigs in action was the most interesting part of the surrounding scenery.

 

 

 

Reached Carlsbad with 90 miles of range left and getting to El Paso was going to be a 200 mile drive the next day. I had researched on Plugshare that there was a Tesla destination charger at the McDonalds in town. So, after checking into my AirBnb I headed out to McDonalds. Luckily, found the destination charger, it was available and it was working. I plugged in my Tesla and it started charging at 40 miles/hour. What a relief and joy such simple and mundane things can bring!

It was going to be 5 hours for the car to fully charge, so I walked back to the AirBnb, rested a while and then walked around town. The Pecos river waterfront in Carlsbad is a very nice walk. 

When I picked up the fully charged car from the McDonalds, it was already dark. As I was started driving back it started to rain. It really poured hard and I couldn't see a thing on the road. So, pulled over for a few minutes to let it taper down.  

Had a relaxed stay at the AirBnb, comforted by the thought I had enough EV range for tomorrow. I worried a little about the weather, since it was forecast to be cloudy with chance for rain.  

I am also only one timezone away from home, and only one week left in the road trip. It has been an exciting journey, a once in a lifetime experience for me, but I miss home and am looking forward to being back.

The raw numbers for the day:

  • 340 miles driving, 8900 steps walking
  • 2 Tesla supercharger stops, Tesla destination charger at McDonald's, Carlsbad
  • 2 states - Texas, New Mexico  

Next:   Day 35:  Carlsbad Caverns, Guadalupe Mountains (Oct 8, 2022)


Comments

  1. आजा वे माहीं तेरा रस्ता उडीकदीयां..

    ReplyDelete
  2. We miss you too! <3 I'm glad the Tesla struggles mostly worked out in the end, apart from the loss of time from servicing.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

USA48 Road Trip: The Whole Story

  The whole story of my road trip across USA in a Tesla, captured in a series of blog posts below. My six-week adventure was from Sept 4, 2022 to Oct 15, 2022.  The links to the blog posts below are in chronological order. Best viewed on a larger screen  of a computer, not on a phone. Click on the photographs in the blog posts to see larger images.   Road trip across USA - Why? What? (July 10, 2022) Road trip in a Tesla - will it work? (Aug 11, 2022)  Day -2: Road Trip Delayed (Aug 27, 2022)  Day 0: Starting Road Trip Tomorrow (Sept 3, 2022)  Day 1: The Adventure Begins (Sept 4, 2022)   Day 2: A drive through Oregon (Sept 5, 2022) Day 3: Mount Rainier National Park (Sept 6, 2022)   Day 4: Reminiscing in Seattle (Sept 7, 2022) Day 5: KOA Cabin in Glacier National Park (Sept 8, 2022) Day 6: Hiking galore in Glacier National Park (Sept 9, 2022) Day 7: Drive from Glacier to Yellowstone (Sept 10, 2022)  Day 8: Yellowstone and G...

Day 5: KOA Cabin in Glacier National Park

  A long drive today from Spokane to the West Glacier KOA Resort, which is close to the Glacier National Park entrance. I had to slow down or stop many times during the drive due to road construction underway at multiple places. There was also a traffic jam to deal with at one place. Lastly, I had go past the most direct route for about 15 miles to get to a supercharger in Superior, MT and then retrace back.  I reached my destination for the day, a cute looking KOA log cabin in a beautiful KOA resort surrounded by mountains. The cabin has electricity, heater, refrigerator and a microwave. Not too shabby, changed my perception of what a KOA kampground is like.  The nearest supercharger from Glacier National Park is over 120 miles away. The primary reason I chose to book at KOA is because they provide access to a NEMA 14-50 220V charger. A timeslot for the single outlet they have needs to be  reserved ahead of time. I was very relieved when all of this worked and my...

Day 14: Enjoyed with Friends in Minnesota

A long drive from Bismarck, North Dakota to Minneapolis, Minnesota today. The drive was mostly on the I-94 interstate freeway, so it was very smooth, high speed limits and lots of Tesla superchargers along the way. The first three hours of the drive was through heavy rain, which was for the first time during the trip. It was nice to transition from the dry grasslands of North Dakota to the lush green trees and grasses in Minnesota, the land of 10000 lakes.  During the drive, I reflected a bit on all the different places I had been to over the past two weeks. I have enjoyed each day since it brought something different and unique. However, one thing is sure that my favorite days so far have been the ones in the big mountains of Mt. Rainier, Glacier and Rocky Mountain National Parks. The imposing mountain ranges, snow capped peaks, the lakes, the waterfalls, the rivers and creeks, the tall trees, the fresh air, all combine to create something magical. I can't get enough of it.  ...