How Scary was Driving my EV Across the Country?

By Sharon Geiken, EVA Member

I’m an 82 year old woman traveling cross country, most of the way solo, 2,600 miles in 12 days in an electric car. Some said I was taking a chance. I said I was having an adventure.

My solo cross country trip was from Bridgeport California via Kingman Arizona to Plymouth Wisconsin in my 2018 Red Tesla Model 3. My sister rode back with me 2 days later and we traveled more directly and mostly on freeways from Plymouth to Bridgeport in 5 days. After a week of rest we headed to Yosemite and Woodland, California and then to Reno.

My sister was heart broken after loosing her husband after almost 60 yrs of marriage. I decided to drive to Wisconsin from California to comfort her and do a girls trip. My departure coincided with the Electric Vehicle Route 66 Rally and show in Kingman in 2023. My friends Liz and Loren Lafferty, who are Eastern Sierra Electric Vehicles chapter members, wanted to meet in Kingman for this fun event. So, even though it was way out of my way I decided to add this to my trip.

I left Bridgeport at 6:30 am and made it to the super chargers in Bishop in time for breakfast. There is a fabulous bakery around the corner and I got my pastry and a strong coffee to go.

It was was so beautiful to go cross country and go over the mountains via Westgard Pass. This is where the road goes to a one lane road for a short distance. There is a section where you cannot see if a car coming from the other direction. This part is a little scary but fortunately not too many cars travel this route.

At the summit there were fantastic views looking back at the snow covered Sierras. Soon after there were Joshua trees and old ruins, I had to stop and take a look.

I made it to Beatty for a long charge. Had an ice cream cone and bathroom break and soon I was on my way to Las Vegas. I don’t enjoy going through this city. There is always construction going on and slow downs with a short detour. Its a dog eat dog town. I can going the speed limit and they honk at me. Gotta go faster to fit in. I try to hit this town about 2:30 pm which is the least busy time.

By evening I made it to Boulder city. I checked my cell phone for suitable lodging and lucked out at the Boulder Dam Hotel.

This is an old original hotel and it is a find. I got the last room for $90! It was lovely and I could charge my car at the hotel.

They have a bar down stairs with happy hour and music. I went there and got a dinner recommendation from a super nice bartender. After dinner I returned to the down stairs bar. The live band took requests. They played everything and the people were dancing. The bartender loaned me a book on the history of the hotel. I discovered that the hotel had a great museum and impressive local artist shop.

In the morning I went to the hotel dining room for breakfast. It was out of this world. If you ever travel through Boulder city, I highly recommend this place. Great service and great value plus the wonderful history.

The next day I made it to Kingman, AZ and met my friends at the Electric Vehicle show. There are a large number of Tesla Superchargers at the Railroad Museum and Visitors center.

Inside the Railroad Museum Visitor Center, there is an electric car museum which I highly recommend.

Outside for this event there were electric cars of all makes on display. Then the excitement of watching the electric cars come in from their big drive from Kingman to Seligman AZ which is about 70 miles out and back each way. I was never bored. I talked with many owners.

Highlights for me were a Ford F150, a Rivian all decked out with Camper, and I also liked the Lucid. There were so many makes on display and many new colors as the some cars had wraps, In the evening Elaine Borseth EVA President drove up with her rainbow Tesla. Wow! There was an evening event where rewards were given out.

I headed out for Flagstaff, AZ. I stayed at a friend of my son, whose home was empty while they were on vacation. What a wonderful restful retreat.

The next morning after a supercharge and breakfast at the Best Western in Flagstaff, I struck out for Albuquerque. I didn’t realize I was going over the continental divide as I watched my range going down. I charged sooner than expected and it was easy with the navigator map on the car. I charged again in Albuquerque at a classy mall and had lunch. That night I ended up in Las Vegas, New Mexico at the Comfort Inn where there were chargers. I met a nice retired couple traveling from the east coast cross country, See photo below.

Now I am traveling on blue highways, not the freeways where superchargers are everywhere. It is taking a chance to find chargers in the rural less populated country and they are less likely to be superchargers that are available. Not to worry! I was always able to find charging when I needed it. I stayed at motels or hotels that offered charging.

On the following day I was in several states, New Mexico, Colorado, Kansas and stayed in Kearney Nebraska as I traveled angling up towards my Wisconsin destination. The last day was my biggest day of over 600 miles. I made it from Nebraska to Iowa, then Minnesota and finally across Wisconsin almost to Lake Michigan (which is within 20 miles of my sisters home in Wisconsin). The best charge stop was in Madison Wisconsin because there was a bucket and squeegee so I could wash the bugs off my windshield.

I made it in time for supper. (Well, late supper.)

I rested two days and then my sister and I took off for Bridgeport Ca. We visited relatives on our way in Minnesota. From Worthington Minnesota to where my cousins lived in Slayton and Lake Shetek there were no chargers. Its always good to carry the portable charging cord. I was able to use a 220 in the garage of my cousin at their cabin on Lake Shetek. Back to the freeway on I-80 where there are abundant chargers.

Except I didn’t take into account that when I traveled the speed of 80 mph which was the South Dakota speed limit, that I ought to have stopped before I realized that my range was going down fast. I slowed down and got into Chamberlain South Dakota at 19%. This happened to be Mothers Day so we had coffee and pastries and on for brunch in Wall SD. We ate at the famous Wall Drug. We stopped in Rapid City at chargers that were located at a mall! My sister bought a fantastic pair of shoes there. We traveled on and found a nice Best Western in Lusk, Wyoming. It was conveniently located across the street from the chargers. They also had the best free complete breakfast hands down.

It took a day to drive across Wyoming and we stayed in Evanston. We hit Salt Lake City early the next the morning and found charging at a downtown Tesla Showroom. Free snacks and sodas were there.

We stopped at the Great Salt lake and took photos.

I got my sister to dare to drive electric finally and she even backed up to the charger on her own in Wendover NV. This was our last day as we got through Nevada and home. It was fun but I was ready for a break!

A week later, we took off for Yosemite which was beyond grand. We got there before spring break and avoided the crowds. This was the year of heavy snow and the water falls were spectacular! In fact there were waterfalls where there were none before. We had lunch at the Ahwahnee hotel while a valet took our car to charge on site.

It was the trip of a lifetime! Some people thought I was crazy doing this solo but it was fun. It made me feel stronger and more confident. Now I can recommend Electric Vehicle travel cross country. By the way, I added up the Supercharging costs for the round trip from Bridgeport to Plymouth WI and it was $545.