Sacramento – My ActiveE Made Me Accidentally Environmental

The Long Way Round – Day 11

With a hat-tip to the 2004 TV mini-series from Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman. This is the eleventh day in a series of posts written about our 2016 EV Roadtrip written in the same manner as our 2015 trip. Here, There, and EVerywhere Trip – Day 01, i.e. summaries written for each day of the trip, published each day, this time two months from the day of the trip. It may seem funny to some to have a summer trip published at the start of the Fall, think of it as some daily entertainment for those that are back in their offices thinking about their past summer trips that could have been or thinking about their next trip.

Missed the previous day’s post, click here to read Day 10 of this trip. You’re just joining us on this trip? Click here for Day 1 and start from the beginning!

So, why the long way round? Well… We got four referrals on the Fourth Tesla Referral Program (May 30, 2016 to July 15, 2016) and we expected to get an invite to the Gigafactory Party, so we thought to start our trip and go to Reno (a nearly 500 mile direct drive from home) via the Pacific Northwest (about a 1600 mile detour) with the intermediate goal of attending the EV Roadmap 9 Conference in Portland, visiting family who were spending time in Seattle, WA and family in Vancouver, BC before turning back for the party.

So, what do we have in store today? Today we head North and East toward Reno for the Gigafactory Party and for TMC Connect 2016. Our first event is the Dinner Reception at TMC Connect 2016 this evening. We’re on I-80 headed East from Sacramento today.

Day 11 – Sacramento, CA to Reno, NV.. July 28, 2016

The Hyatt Regency Sacramento popped up as a Destination charger, but only one J1772 station actually was operational for visitors (during our visit.) Though I was worried about being the only one at the charging station, no one contacted me to move the car overnight so that they can use the charger. We were able to charge up quite a bit of the car and would more than likely stop at Superchargers on this route because we wanted to see them more than actually needing a charge.

We headed North and East towards Reno, but had plans to visit a few superchargers along the way.

Our first stop is the Tesla Rocklin Sales, Service, Supercharger, and Delivery Center.

This location is impressive and looks like it took over an old car dealership location. The supercharger stalls are pull through and convenient for Model X that may be towing something behind it.

We plugged in for a short while just to ensure that we have a boost and add the supercharger to the “chargers that I have visited list.”

It was more photo op than actual needed charge stop…

We even had the other side of our DCPPOWR with the ACPOWRD New fascia Model S that was at this site.

Lots of great pictures of the charger location, a quick pit stop, met a few more folks who were planning on being at either TMC Connect or the Gigafactory party, and we’re back on the road.

It’s nice to be back on I-80 going East. It brings back fond memories of last year’s Here, There, and Everywhere trip.

Traveling to Lake Tahoe and Reno is a strange sight for me in the Summer. The past few times that I have done this drive as an adult, it had always been winter and I was on my way to skiing at Lake Tahoe. I can’t remember a time when Reno was my actual destination.

The drive was peaceful, and we were at the summit in relatively short order.

Tesla has two locations for supercharger clusters in Truckee, CA. We opted to go to the newer one on the inbound drive to Reno. We wanted to get a charge so that we have enough “driving around” range and back.

Driving in mountainous areas tend to take energy and though we only drove for approximately 83 miles, we’ve used up over 110 miles of range.

We were the first to arrive at this second Truckee stop and promptly chose a stall to charge at.

We were soon joined by a couple with their new White Model X.

We decided to walk around the area and were reminded that there are wildlife that live in Truckee. These trashcans look secured from bears.

The center that these chargers are located have very few amenities, but the folks running the sushi bar were gracious enough to let a weary traveler use their facilities.

The fish at the Drunken Monkey looked appetizing, but I was not hungry, so we skipped it and made a mental note, should we be hungry and be in the area in the future.

We had a good chat with the couple with the White Model X when more Tesla travelers joined us at the supercharger.

And we had a good amount of charge we decided it was time to head out.

We looked at our car and were reminded of our drive through the fields North of Sacramento and all the bugs splat on the car made us seek out a manual car wash that we can use to clean the car and make it presentable to those attending TMC Connect. We didn’t want to be the only filthy car during any sort of photo sessions that we may be a part of.

After a quick wash, we headed into Reno.

Oh look, our nemesis was on this road as well.

We drove along the Truckee River toward Reno.

And are welcomed by the Welcome to Nevada sign.

This must be one of those few spots in Nevada where there is a border crossing and yet no casino immediately on the Nevada side of the border.

It would be another few miles before we spot any casinos.

We’ve decided to stay at the Harrah’s Reno with some friends as it was less expensive than Atlantis, the hotel for TMC Connect.

The chargers at Harrah’s Reno is a bit of a challenge to use. It was short and we had to move the car a few times to get it working.

We had a lot of miles, but we’re on a Roadtrip, and ABC rules always apply. Besides, we’re charging for a short amount of time and decided to get some electrons while we check in and get ready for the TMC Connect dinner reception.

The Atlantis Resort and Casino in Reno is definitely a newer hotel than the one we ar staying at.

We thought that the reception was at the hotel, but had to take the long haul over to the Convention Center instead.

After a long walk, we find ourselves “almost there.”

And we made it. Anytime you see a bunch of Teslas parked inside a building, chances are you’re in an EV conference. TMC Connect is no exception.

I wasn’t even asking why this Model X was turquoise. Needless to say, these guys can help you if you wanted to do something “different” with your Tesla.

There were also manufacturers of some cool two wheeled EVs.

The folks that are building hitches for those that want to pull something with their Tesla.

Dinner was good, and the company was better.

One of my favorite things to try to track down at these events are Rob and Andy (aka Woof) from Massachusetts. Both these guys are ex-Active E guys who now drive Teslas (like that guy in the middle).

The hallway had some full tables, but some noticeably absent were folks who flew out for the event who got caught in some weather in the middle of the country. There were a bunch from the Mid Atlantic states who were stuck on their side of the country because of that.

We had a great night of conversation, consternation (over the Gigafactory and things) and camaraderie. And with that we headed over to the Reno Supercharger, not for a charge, though I plugged in for a few minutes (to add it to “the list” again)

But to take lots of Tesla photographs…

Beside us were a couple of guys who drove up for the Gigafactory party and didn’t even realize that TMC was going on. They were in a new fascia Model S.

Lots of Model X around.

And documented a lot of creative personalized plates.

Long drive out from Virginia.

Someone’s smilin’

Doug’s car’ Nikola

I believe this was ChadS’ ride (his wife’s car)

Our friend from BC, Paul Carter, drives around in this one… He decided NOT to get Model X.

A better shot of Zap 2 Zum

Hard to find that feed for a residential home in North America.

Yes please, No ICE

California lets us use some fun characters and this person made good use of theirs.

Frickin’ Lasers

On a Ludicrous P90D Model X…

This time the person with the Model X plate installed it on a Model X.

We got back to our hotel to catch some guys trying to charge their Teslas on the charger, (turns out that one of them was Bjorn Nyland and his friend) and so we headed to find a parking spot in the garage.

Across the street were also some charging stations.

Here’s a zoomed in shot of a Model S at one.

We turned in for the night with slightly higher than a 90% charge.

Now, I’d like to say that whatever happens in Reno, stays in Reno, but I won’t… I just won’t have pictures of it.

Like I mentioned on the drive in, we chose the hotel because we had friends staying here and we caught up with them. Turns out that our friend was friends with KMan and while we were hanging with him, got an invite to hang. We headed up to a room in one of the towers of the hotel only to find ourselves in Bjorn Nyland’s room with Bjorn live-streaming on Youtube or Facebook, we’re not sure, and Kman waiting for his buddy to arrive so that he can check into his hotel. So, after trying to stay away from being “caught on video” both the better half and I end up on a live stream with folks who follow Bjorn. It’s a good thing that we’re NOT on witness protection. 😉

We stayed for a short while to shoot the breeze and talk with the guys about all things Tesla and then took our leave to get some rest.

The next day of this series, Day 12, is published here.

It’s important to note that our Gigafactory invite would not have been possible had folks not used our referral code. So, I have to thank those that were convinced to pick up a Tesla Model S or Model X and decided to save some money by using our referral code. So, if you’re as inclined as those that took us up on the offer, and in the market for a Tesla Model S or Model X, you can save $1,000 USD/$1,200 CAD/£750 GBP (and whatever the equivalent is in your market) if you use our referral code – http://ts.la/dennis5317.

The Long Way Round – Day 10

With a hat-tip to the 2004 TV mini-series from Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman. This is the tenth day in a series of posts written about our 2016 EV Roadtrip written in the same manner as our 2015 trip. Here, There, and EVerywhere Trip – Day 01, i.e. summaries written for each day of the trip, published each day, this time two months from the day of the trip. It may seem funny to some to have a summer trip published at the start of the Fall, think of it as some daily entertainment for those that are back in their offices thinking about their past summer trips that could have been or thinking about their next trip.

Missed the previous day’s post, click here to read Day 9 of this trip. You’re just joining us on this trip? Click here for Day 1 and start from the beginning!

So, what do we have in store today? Today we continue to head South toward Reno for the Gigafactory Party on the 29th. We’ve also registered to do some of the events for TMC Connect 2016. Our first event is the Dinner Reception on Thursday evening for TMC Connect 2016. Rather than take a different route back to Reno, we’ve decided to stay on the same Interstate 5 route.

We had hoped to meet up with some EV friends in our drive through Washington and Oregon and we were lucky enough to catch one of four. We had no planned meetups heading back to California before making the swing up to Reno. It’s just drive, drive, drive again, and figure out where to stop.

Day 10 – Springfield, OR Southbound to as far as we can.. July 27, 2016

We start the day at the Hilton Garden Inn, Springfield, OR. We selected this hotel because we’re loyal to Hiltons and Tesla Destination Charging.

We had full intention of charging Level 2 overnight and continue our trip as soon as we woke up. However, as you can see from the picture below, the hotel’s destination HPWC when it is being used, the second charger, the J1772 is inconveniently located to charge a second Tesla.

Basically, if I drove in forward to the second charging location, the charging cable will cross the other Model S and have the cable be in its way. Furthermore, if I drove in backward, the cable will be precariously twisted with the J1772 to Model S adapter, if that charger cable will even reach the car.

Since our hotel was less than a mile away from the nearest Supercharger, we just opted to skip the Level 2 entirely and supercharge there before heading to Grants Pass, OR and beyond.

So we finished up at the hotel, had our breakfast, checked out and went less than a mile away to get some electrons for our car.

Was I glad that we did. It turned out to be a Supercharger powered TMC Meetup. The two other Model S that was supercharging at the time were also headed to TMC Connect in Reno.

The Signature Red Model S was already charging in his car when we pulled up to take our spot and start to charge. Soon after, the twin to our Model S pulls up beside us. I notice the license plate on the blue one (an Oregon one with the plate Nikola) and stepped out of the car to compliment him on his plate.

When DBullard introduces himself to me, I recognize his handle and it all clicked. At that point, the driver to the Sig Red S steps out to join in the conversation and it turns out to be ChadS. First thing that Chad does is stare at me in disbelief and said something to the effect of, “aren’t you out of your way”. Apparently he recognized me and was confused as to why I’m charging in OR for a trip to Reno… We had a good laugh at that and explained our Long Way Round trip and plans.

The Sig Red on the left is ChadS and the Blue Model S (twin to our S) in the middle is DBullard.

Chad was there a lot longer than we were and he headed out first. With three of us heading South for TMC Connect, and several locations with only four stalls means that we can probably expect to have some locations have a short wait.

Chad and Doug both have hotel plans for the night. We’re just winging it, so it really depends on how it works out.

We left next, but being a more “moderate”-footed Model S driver meant that before we even make it to the next supercharger location, Doug overtakes us on the road and we were able to get him a few great shots of Nikola.

We continue on and my better half spots another “logging industry” life-cycle truck hauling Stage 2 prepared lumber products…

I suppose that these “bald spots” on the mountain is probably “logging industry” life-cycle stage 0. Either that, or someone needs tree rogaine to cover these spots.

The drive back to Grants Pass has some interesting undulations.

We were craving coffee in the middle of this drive and thought to seek out the nearest Dutch Bros. coffee. After all, we’re not going to be in Oregon much longer and we can always grab Starbucks elsewhere.

So, we did a search on Google and found a listing for one at Sutherlin, OR.

Near the Dutch Bros. location, we see one big flag above us… We also spot a donut.

It is a donut… but when you put the words Smoke Shop on a Donut and put mushrooms above the building, it makes us think twice before we stop in, and we passed on that “donut” shop. Additionally, the Dutch Bros. at this location had a LONG line and we’re only 80 miles to Grants Pass. We decided to skip this location and continued on our drive.

Success… At least on my wife’s goal of seeing the “logging industry” life-cycle in action on this trip (we’re still waiting on that Pasta truck from Day one of the drive.) That’s half a wood building we see being carried on a truck.

And a short while later, the OTHER half of that structure was being hauled as well.

And then for bonus points, we get to see a completed structure being hauled on our side of the drive.

Not just a completed structure, but a modern “out house.” I would normally make a joke about the “Oversize Load” sign on an “out house”, but decide against it.

Now this former mountain “bald spot” looks like it got some tree Rogaine applied to its slope.

And with that we find ourselves at our last supercharger stop in Oregon. Back in Grants Pass, OR.

At the Grants Pass Supercharger, I took the last remaining spot and it looks like Doug and Chad were already there with one other Model S. Since the two guys that were traveling ahead of me were sharing the same circuit, I can only guess that the other Model S must have arrived in between the two of them.

We decided to fill up the car with electrons before we filled up the travelers with some “Dutch Love”…

We ordered a Caramelizer and a hot coffee as well.

Before we left the area, we thought to stop by and take pictures of the nearly adjacent West Coast Electric Highway DCFC station at Grants Pass. The states of Oregon and Washington deployed their stations along the WCEH a lot faster than California or British Columbia. The standard at the time was strictly CHAdeMO and the planners also instituted a J1772 alongside the single CHAdeMO station that they installed.

It’s a great start to allow CHAdeMO enabled travel throughout both states. Unfortunately, very few US cars are able to use the CHAdeMO stations, but I know of several who have made full use of this network and I am sure they are thankful for it.

Ooh… a painted bear. Not sure what the bear was adorned with, but can only guess that it had something to do with the history of the area.

And we headed out of Grants Pass and back to California.

On this leg of our drive, I spot a Nissan Leaf that was on a truck that was headed in the same direction as us. It looks like it has no plates and I suspect that its a car that was being sold or has been sold in California that used to be in Oregon. But I digress.

Spot a lone windmill in the distance. Don’t know what it’s powering, but good for them.

And as we near the California border, our friendly neighbors from the South send us on our way with a thankful goodbye.

We spot no California sign outside of the “Click it or Ticket” sign. That was disappointing.

And the terrain becomes less green and more gold in the Golden State.

Looks like the cows around these parts are hanging out on the ranch as well.

My better half captures a nice shot of Mt. Shasta.

And I needed to make a quick stop and thought it would be funny to take a picture of the Weed, CA sign. Yes… I can be a little immature at times, (remember the Outhouse insinuation?)

Nearing the Mount Shasta supercharger, we spot some really colorful trucks on the side of the road. One has to definitely be distracted not to notice any of those trucks. I spotted them from the OTHER SIDE of the road.

And we get to Mt. Shasta in no time. Doug was spending the night here, so we were not going to be seeing Nikola on the road today. However, I believe that Chad was still going forward. We arrived to be the last vehicle to take the fourth stall again and proceeded to charge for our next stop in Corning.

It was still early enough in the day that we decided to keep driving. We currently selected the Supercharger in Roseville, CA as our next destination, though I don’t think that we’ll be driving there tonight. The GPS wants us to take CA-99 after Corning.

I ran into Doug at the hotel and we chatted a little and I told him about the great pictures that my better half caught of Nikola and got his business card so that I can email him the JPGs.

Another four stall supercharger where we ended up being the last one here.

Going downhill at passes always seems to create the most interesting energy graphs.

So, we filled up and continued on.

Lots of great tree lined drive. The curves make it feel like we’re the only one on the road.

Until you look behind, or past the next corner.

We spot another lone windmill.

Then some more cows grazing.

Before we make it to Corning Supercharger, we wanted to see if we can stay in the Roseville area. We couldn’t find a hotel to stay at and decided to change locations and target the Hyatt Regency Sacramento for our hotel for the night. It looked to have a charger or two available for use according to Tesla Destination Charging program and confirmed by our friends at Teslarati.

Our original goal was Roseville, and that would have been better to take CA-99 over I-5. Since we’re now considering Sacramento, we decided to just stick with I-5 to our hotel.

With sunlight and no “strange people” around, the Corning, CA feels reasonably safe. Besides, there’s an open Starbucks nearly adjacent to the charging location, and that always puts me at ease.

Looks like most of the cars and people were also attracted to the Starbucks.

We continue on I-5 to the Hyatt Regency Sacramento.

One of the concerns in driving through these fields at night is the amount of insect activity and how many will find themselves stuck on the car during the drive.

And just past 10:00 PM at night we finally check in to our hotel for the night.

The parking garage at the Hyatt had a ton of EVSEs installed. Unfortunately, at the time, only one seemed to be operational.

I ended up finding the one that was working and plugged in.

I walked throughout the parking structure and noticed a ton of EVSEs and HPWCs that were installed with no power to them.

The “Not in Service” signs irritated me, but I guess they’ll be “on” in the future.

I took a picture of the “EV Rules” for the parking garage attached to the Hyatt Regency. This location is configured that the EVSEs are MEANT TO BE SHARED. There is an EVSE to share for every three stalls.

It will be great to see this location in action in the future. However, when one arrives at a destination charger expecting to be able to charge, it’s been one disappointment after another with two hotels in a row that were supposed to be available for destination charging that was less than ideal. (At least I was able to plug in.) Besides, we’re almost at TMC Connect (tomorrow) and the Gigafactory Party in two days. With that, we turned in.

[In all fairness to the Hyatt Regency Sacramento, there have been articles and press releases recently published (September 2016 – Clipper Creek article. Link on Hyatt site. Sacramento Bee article) that announced the “Grand Opening” of these chargers that were inoperative when we visited it in July 2016. Perhaps the approval process took forever.]

The next day of this series, Day 11, is published and available here.