[iron]

we drove from kimberley, bc, to seattle, and then back over the course of 9 days. travel through canada via hwy 3 was mostly a breeze. seattle was fine. i-90 back to spokane was a crapshoot. i couldn't believe it. so many out of service charging stations. our chevy bolt doesn't charge very fast compared to others, but it was still fine and doable. no, we're not busting ass like stefan to get to snowbird, but you gotta understand the use of your vehicle. 98% of our travel is fine even with 120v charging at home. road trips involve planning and patience. i think our total charges for our trip was something like $60 for 1200 miles. we have found many free level 2 chargers throughout southern BC.

[Bosterson]

[neek]

[Randito]

Many of BEV on the market day are Tesla emulators , high power , high range, a gazillion features. The acceleration of even a standard Model 3 is amazing. The performance has definitely been a factor in Tesla sales to various tech bros. It would be interesting to see what could be done NEVs ( Nieghborhood Electric Vehicles) These have made some inroads in Europe and are exploding in China. I think wider adoption in the US market would be facilitated by an updated standard with a maximum speed of 35 from 25 mph.

[Schroder]

[kiliki]

This is pretty cool--it's nice to see infrastructure beefed up in areas near hiking. Now they just need to keep everything operational. White Pass Scenic Byway charging stations Electric Vehicle Charging Network Construction began February 2023 on a network of electric vehicle (EV) charging stations along the White Pass Scenic Byway on U.S. Route 12. The network will comprise eight new EV charging stations from Chehalis to White Pass Ski Area, each equipped with at least one Level 3 fast charger and one Level 2 charger. All the stations are expected to be operational this year and will be listed for drivers to find on the PlugShare website and mobile application. The project is a collaboration among Energy Northwest, Lewis County Public Utility District and Twin Transit, with support from White Pass Scenic Byway organization, Benton REA and surrounding community members. Each charging location on the White Pass Scenic Byway will have an interpretive sign highlighting nearby attractions and local information. Energy Northwest secured two grants to fund the project – a $1.15 million grant from the Washington State Department of Commerce’s Clean Energy Fund and about $667,000 from the TransAlta Coal Transition Fund. Station locations: White Pass: 48935 US-12, White Pass Ski Resort Packwood: 13053 US-12, Tatoosh Market Randle: 9802 US-12 Morton: 521 Adams Ave, Morton Medical Center Elbe: 54106 Mountain Highway East, Mt. Rainier Railroad Dining Mossyrock: 748 Williams St., Mossy Mini Salkum: 2480 US-12, Salkum Library Chehalis: 172 US-12 at I-5 Exit 68, Petro America *** If we could only get that for the Methow now. With all the money up there I'm surprised there isn't better charging infrastructure. Maybe all the second home owners just have their own? But so many of us Seattle people go there year round. This is one place where we do struggle a bit--plugging in to the 110 at a rental cabin, and using the Inn at Mazama's free (even to non-guests!!) Level II charger. We always rent via Methow Reservations and have for 15 years, and I've been bugging them about encouraging their owners to install chargers. If we could just charge a cabin all would be fine. It's not that expensive, usually.

[Route Loser]

My wife and I have found a few rentals in the Methow with a dryer outlet located near enough to run a portable level 2 out to the car. Gotta scope the layout in advance as best as possible and have your adapter collection ready. Otherwise, some of those Central Reservations cabins are on Goat Creek Loop/Last Chance Rd or thereabouts, and I'll drive down to the Mazama charging station and walk back on the trail network. There are some new 150 kW stations in Twisp and Newhalem and Pateros that were intended to come online this spring, but no such luck yet. They'll be administered by the EVCS network who took over all the old Aerovironment stations. I'm not familiar with their uptime and repair record. Looks like 4 stalls in Twisp.

[treeswarper]

Hmmm. That Randle location can flood. I suppose "someone" would turn off the power before the water got to it? The approach to the bridge across the Cowlitz floods frequently and the old log scaling location also does. https://www.google.com/maps/@46.5352416,-121.9572715,3a,75y,118.59h,92.75t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1swgAteaTwYYEQml8x-Hhkgg!2e0!7i13312!8i6656?entry=ttu

[coldrain108]

Forks has a charging "lot" now. I don't have a plug-in vehicle, so I'm not sure of the details, but there is a lot with 6 or so charging stations.

[Route Loser]

[kiliki]

I just did my first multi-state EV road trip and it was great. I had to go to northern CA for work and I'm committed to flying less, thus the car trip. Plus the I-5 corridor would be a very easy way to take a first road trip, I knew. I hadn't taken a real (multi-state) road trip in years; in recent decades I always flew. I was prepared for some hassle and a lot of tedium and was very surprised at how easy and smooth charging was. My big takeaways: 1) Choosing a hotel based on free charging is totally worth it. It is a delight to come out in the morning and find a fully charged car. I made sure there was a working and available charger before checking in. This all might be harder during the summer travel season but in fall I was able to roll up, check the charger situation, then commit to going in. Know all your options, in case, say, the Best Western in Redding gives you error messages on all 4 chargers, and you want to choose another hotel. 2) Driving an EV on a heavily trafficked interstate feels way safer than driving an ICE car. The kind of pickup that an EV has meant that every time I was in a semi's blind spot, or when I was stuck between a triple tractor trailer and the concrete median barrier, especially going uphill, ESPECIALLY in southern OR/northern CA where I-5 is two lane, up and down, and twisty turny, meant that it was very easy for me to zoom out of there. (I felt like I had the fastest most powerful car out there. If you've never accelerated in an EV, it's FUN). 3) I am convinced that having to stop for charging aligns with how often we should be stopping for safety (mental alertness) and health (walking/stretching/just not sitting) reasons. 4) The A Better Route Planner app is quite accurate for trips where you'll need to stop and charge multiple times. 5) Props to the people who leave reviews/check ins on Plugshare. It is so helpful.