Tesla-powered Roadtrip: Summer 2015
From Los Angeles to Salt Lake City in July, with stops at nearly ever Supercharger along the way!
As an avid Model S aficionado, I’ve long wanted to take a Tesla roadtrip, especially because over the last two years the supercharger network has expanded so dramatically across the continent. (Except for Arkansas/Mississippi and North Dakota, one can comfortably depend on Tesla’s Supercharger stations throughout the U.S.) Earlier this year, Tesla issued Model S Software Update 6.2, which offers extremely useful roadtrip technology that ensures range by guiding the driver to Supercharger stations along the way. So, until just recently I hadn’t taken the Tesla beyond the borders of Los Angeles and Orange Counties. But I decided that I wanted to venture out and experience the supercharger/roadtrip experience. I absolutely loved it and hope to do this again. Overall, the Supercharger stations are quite conveniently located. And the fact that “refueling”, i.e. charging, is free makes me want to shout for joy. Let me emphasize that when driving a Tesla, roadtripping is FREE!!
Part I: From Los Angeles to the inland deserts
We departed coastal Los Angeles, leaving behind the 73-degree weather, during the early hours of a balmy afternoon. Having departed with a fully charged battery, I decided to forego the Supercharger stations in the L.A. area (e.g., West L.A., Hawthorne, Redondo Beach) and Rancho Cucamonga, and we excitedly lurched toward our first stop: Supercharger Barstow.
The desert welcomed us with intense heat: in the region near Barstow, the car registered a temperature of 109 degrees (Fahr.)!
In Barstow, the Superchargers are located in a parking lot adjacent to the Chili’s restaurant, not far at all from the I-15 freeway. It was a quick exit and within two minutes we were plugged in and walking into Chili’s for a nourishing mid-afternoon meal.
The Supercharger station in Barstow was completely full, and we were fortunate to pull into the only remaining vacant spot. This tends to be quite common at many Supercharger stations in California (Tesla’s most saturated market), including along the L.A.-Vegas corridor.
By the time we had finished a potty break and a quick meal inside Chili’s, the car was completely charged and ready to carry us to Nevada.
We continued onward with Supercharger Primm as our next destination. The newly updated software in the Model S allows the driver to see an estimate of the remaining range upon arriving at the next destination…it’s really an awesome feature!
(Note: The high external temperatures did necessitate heavy use of the car’s climate control and air cooling inside the cabin, so I am not sure how much impact that had on the car’s battery use on the trip.)
We exited the I-15 freeway in Primm, Nevada, without really needing a charge before arriving in Las Vegas, but I wanted to check out the station anyway. The station was pretty full. It’s in the middle of a large parking lot adjacent to Primm Valley Casino Resorts, and there’s a McDonald’s within 25 seconds (walking), so we stopped by McDonald’s for a quick ice cream cone break while we let the Tesla charge for a few minutes. Shortly thereafter, we began the final leg of that day’s journey: to Las Vegas!
We arrived to a bustling Las Vegas Strip and headed to the hotel. I intentionally selected a hotel that offers free Tesla charging to guests, so as to have a fully charged battery upon leaving the hotel on the morrow and avoid a stopping at the Supercharger station in Las Vegas, which lies a few miles to the north of the Strip. Hotels in Las Vegas that offer free Tesla charging to guests are multiple and include the Bellagio, Mandarin Oriental, and the Cosmopolitan. They are not, of course, Superchargers, but are Tesla-made “Turbochargers” that add at least 30 miles of range to the battery per hour of charge. Indeed a great perk for us hotel guests!
Part II: Las Vegas to Salt Lake City
After one night of leisure in Las Vegas, we packed up and continued the journey to the Beehive State. We entered Salt Lake City as our final destination into the car’s navigation system, which calculated how many minutes of charging we would need at each of the Supercharger stations along the way: St. George, Beaver, Nephi, and Salt Lake. (Seriously in love with this feature!!) Between Las Vegas and St. George we sped past the mini resort town of Mesquite, then passed through the curvy freeway paths (and much road construction) in the northwestern corner of Arizona. As we approached the Utah border, the local geology showed off its beautiful reddish tones unqiue to that region. Crossing into Utahn territory and arriving in the lovely city of St. George, I was disappointed to note that Tesla installed its Supercharger station nearly 4 miles away from the freeway — not terrible, but probably the least conveniently positioned of the Supercharger stations with which I am familiar. Anyway, the station makes up for its geographic disadvantages by being situated among a variety of retail and dining options! We stopped at a handful of shops, including one that was particularly enjoyable: a custom, made-to-order (!!!) donut spot called The Fractured Prune, a name that certainly makes one wonder.
St. George is a lovely town and every time I find myself there, I tell myself that, although I am just passing through now, next time I’ll spend more time and explore the city. But it never happens and I always end up wishing we had a few more hours to look around. The red rocks in and surrounding St. George are quite simply stunning. One of the city’s highlights is the nineteenth-century Mormon Temple, one of the religion’s most historic.
Following our departure from St. George, we continued on the I-15 freeway toward Salt Lake City, passing the entrance path that leads to the renowned Zion National Park (OMG I wanna go!), Cedar City, and others… we then stopped in Beaver to charge the car.
Unlike the Supercharger stations in California and en route to Las Vegas, the stations in Utah are not heavily used. We were the only car charging at the stations between Las Vegas and Salt Lake City. It seems that Tesla automobiles increase in rarity as one moves farther from California.
Beaver is a very small town but we stopped there to plug into the Supercharger station, which lies amidst a shockingly sprawling rest-stop complex, unlike any other I’d seen before. The Dairy Queen there was terrifyingly busy but we braved the crowds to order some irresistible, gourmet fare.
Once we finished enjoying our time in Beaver, we saw that a Tesla peer had joined us at the Supercharger, and for this we rejoiced. In short order we then proceeded northward toward the next Tesla Supercharger in Nephi, a small city named after one of the prophets in the Book of Mormon.
I must mention that we passed a town with a most unusual and unique name: Scipio. (I’d love to know more about the origin of that name!) Then we got to the Nephite regions of Juab County, just south of Utah County. We plugged in at the Supercharger in Nephi, which is located in the parking lot of a quaint family restaurant called JC Mickelson’s, famous for its many toy trains chugging around on tracks that hover above the tables throughout the dining areas… kids adore it! We were there for a quick stop before continuing on to the Wasatch Front. We drove on the I-15 freeway through Payson, Spanish Fork, Springville, Provo, Orem, Lehi, and a few others before turning the bend and reaching the land of great bounty: the Valley of the Great Salt Lake. We quickly arrived at Salt Lake City’s Tesla Supercharger, which is part of a newly constructed facility that serves as the Tesla service center and will some day be a Tesla store.
Utah is one of those odd states where it’s illegal for Tesla to sell its vehicles to consumers. Bummer for the folks of the Beehive State: they must purchase the car elsewhere and transport it back home on their own.
Maybe one of these days Utah’s economy will be permitted to join the 21st century, fostering a situation in which consumers will be allowed to purchase the most amazing “made in the U.S.A.” automobile. (I talked to a less-than-polite gentleman inside the Tesla service center who informed me that there are over 250 Teslas in Utah, a very shocking number to me because I only saw one other Tesla during my entire stay in Salt Lake.)
Arriving in Salt Lake City, we were exhausted…and happy that we had driven all the way from the coast to the Great Basin region without spending a cent on gas/fuel/energy. What awesome technology! Thanks, Tesla Motors & Elon Musk!
