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Coast to Coast to Coast Trip June 16-30 2015

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I posted this on FB and Twitter and Google + DC Tesla Owners [age, but for folks who did not see this, here it is again!

Well guys and gals, after 14 days, 19 states, 7,245.6 electric miles, 2,217.9 kWh, 306 Wh/mi average, 52 superchargers (and one NEMA 14-50), the cross country trip of my lifetime is complete! My 2012 Tesla Model S P85 with 21" Continentals never skipped a beat! In addition to driving, we saw Mt Rushmore, the California Redwoods, got an awseome Tesla Factory tour, drove 100+ miles down the beautiful Pacific Coast Highway, stayed on the beach in Cambria CA at a cool Tesla Destination Charging hotel, finally saw Fremont Street at night in Vegas, toured Arches National Park in Moab Utah (along with two other Model S!), and got to feel the sheer joy of passing everyone like they were standing still while going up the Rockies at over 10,000 feet! My daughter (who graduated from high school just before the trip!) was with me for 75% of the trip (from Couer de'Lane Idaho thru the rest of the trip), and she got to see the sheer beauty of the U.S. and the vastly different landscapes she's never seen before, too!

Our route took us from Fairfax VA thru Somerset Pa, then across Ohio and Illinios, up thru Madison, then west to Rapid City, then up thru Montana and to Couer de'Lane. Then to Eugene Oregon, out to Crescent City to see Redwoods, then on to Fremont, then Cambria CA, then to Vegas, Moab, then home on I70 thru St Louis and back to Fairfax.
 

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Thanks for sharing those pics! That does look like a spectacular trip with pretty good weather based on the photos.
Any range issues traveling the I70 route across Missouri? I'm contemplating that route for a trip from SoCal to Vermont this Fall.
Did you stick to a planned itinerary with hotels booked well in advance or just kind of wing it day by day?
I will be solo (except dog is my co-pilot). I expect to camp some and then look for dog-friendly hotels in-between.
Nice locations. You visited some great spots considering it was a pretty quick round-trip.
 
Thanks for sharing those pics! That does look like a spectacular trip with pretty good weather based on the photos.
Any range issues traveling the I70 route across Missouri? I'm contemplating that route for a trip from SoCal to Vermont this Fall.
Did you stick to a planned itinerary with hotels booked well in advance or just kind of wing it day by day?
I will be solo (except dog is my co-pilot). I expect to camp some and then look for dog-friendly hotels in-between.
Nice locations. You visited some great spots considering it was a pretty quick round-trip.

Regarding the trip from Independence MO to St Charles, I max range charged (for me, that is 256 miles) then drove the speed limit with the a/c on (and not in Range Mode). I got to St Charles with 52 miles remaining.
We stuck to a planned itinerary and booked hotels ahead of time. Tried to stay at hotels where the supercharger was co-located.
Have a great trip!!
 
Thanks for sharing those pics! That does look like a spectacular trip with pretty good weather based on the photos.
Any range issues traveling the I70 route across Missouri? I'm contemplating that route for a trip from SoCal to Vermont this Fall.
Did you stick to a planned itinerary with hotels booked well in advance or just kind of wing it day by day?
I will be solo (except dog is my co-pilot). I expect to camp some and then look for dog-friendly hotels in-between.
Nice locations. You visited some great spots considering it was a pretty quick round-trip.

We're currently in the middle of a cross-country road trip from Minneapolis to Quebec City. Tonight we're staying in Macedonia (Cleveland, OH area). Met a Tesla owner from Massachusetts at the Tesla charger who is on his way to Colorado, with three dogs as his co-pilot, navigator, and flight attendant. He mentioned that there are some destination charging sites in and around Columbia, MO, but that the B&B there doesn't allow pets. We didn't talk about the Tiger Hotel. Coincidently, he is staying in the same hotel as we are (the La Quinta) because they allow pets; we don't have our dog along, I just picked because it looked like a nice hotel and it's only about a mile from the SC. So, two Tesla owners in the same hotel in town, but for different reasons.
 
Thanks for sharing those pics! That does look like a spectacular trip with pretty good weather based on the photos.
Any range issues traveling the I70 route across Missouri? I'm contemplating that route for a trip from SoCal to Vermont this Fall.
Did you stick to a planned itinerary with hotels booked well in advance or just kind of wing it day by day?
I will be solo (except dog is my co-pilot). I expect to camp some and then look for dog-friendly hotels in-between.
Nice locations. You visited some great spots considering it was a pretty quick round-trip.

Regarding the trip from Independence MO to St Charles, I max range charged (for me, that is 256 miles) then drove the speed limit with the a/c on (and not in Range Mode). I got to St Charles with 52 miles remaining.
We stuck to a planned itinerary and booked hotels ahead of time. Tried to stay at hotels where the supercharger was co-located.
Have a great trip!!

@jthompson, Great trip itinerary and pics. No Arches pictures in the ones you uploaded here though. That was one of my favorite stops. Funny to see your selfie at the Angola, IN supercharger. That short steep hill seems like it would be a challenge in winter weather. You're a great dad to share your adventure with your daughter. My last cross-country trip prior to this trip was over two decades ago and the drive is much better in a Model S than the UHaul truck that I helped my buddy drive back to California from Massachusetts in that trip in my youth.

@Sparky, We did a SoCal to Maine and Vermont trip in May that I wrote on my blog and documented on a TMC thread and it was awesome. We took I-70 heading West and stopped at Glenn's Cafe at the Tiger Hotel for some dessert for an hour and charge to top off a little.

If you're driving around VT, you might want to consider picking up a CHAdeMO adapter and sign up for NRG before you get there. There is an NRG CHAdeMO at The Hampton Inn at White River Junction, VT that is "in the middle" and if you end up at Ben and Jerry's Factory Tour, they just turned on a CHAdeMO there and I was the first one to use it.
 
We're currently in the middle of a cross-country road trip from Minneapolis to Quebec City. Tonight we're staying in Macedonia (Cleveland, OH area). Met a Tesla owner from Massachusetts at the Tesla charger who is on his way to Colorado, with three dogs as his co-pilot, navigator, and flight attendant. He mentioned that there are some destination charging sites in and around Columbia, MO, but that the B&B there doesn't allow pets. We didn't talk about the Tiger Hotel. Coincidently, he is staying in the same hotel as we are (the La Quinta) because they allow pets; we don't have our dog along, I just picked because it looked like a nice hotel and it's only about a mile from the SC. So, two Tesla owners in the same hotel in town, but for different reasons.

You will have no problems making it the 218 miles from Independence MO to St Charles MO in an 85. Going the speed limit I averaged 304 kWh/mi over that distance - there are no big hills or anything.
 
You will have no problems making it the 218 miles from Independence MO to St Charles MO in an 85. Going the speed limit I averaged 304 kWh/mi over that distance - there are no big hills or anything.
Thanks for the advice guys. Both blogs and posts very helpful. When I last checked with Tiger Hotel it was a "no pets" place. Sounds like it will be no problem to make the 218 miles or perhaps just stop for a snack. Co-pilot gives two woofs to ribs!