This is a guest post written by Rudy Beharrysingh, the president of the Blue Ridge EV Club. To read the original post, click here.
I always wondered why Telsa owners never seemed too worried about range. Previously, I had an intellectual appreciation for Tesla cars, but never owned one myself. That changed after driving a P85 Model S through the Rockies! I now truly understand the superior performance of the Tesla automobile and the genius of Musk et al.
After many years of promoting electric transportation, it was a dream come true to drive my very own Tesla – even if it were for four days. The US National Park system is second to none, and what a shame it is that so many people traverse these wonders while emitting a ton of noxious fumes. Before visiting The Rocky Mountains National Park, I knew that I wanted to have this experience in an EV. Using a car sharing program called Turo, I was able to secure a Model S for a few days. The 2014, P85 had over 100,000 miles, but drove like a dream, as if it were new! We started our trip to the National Park in Denver with 224 miles of range on the car. After driving 30 miles, we stopped in Boulder, where there is a nice Supercharger. I picked up about 40 miles and with the touch of a screen, raised the suspension in preparation for the uphill climb.
After experiencing many beautiful vistas including a herd of Big Horn Sheep in the Alpine region, we reached the Alpine Visitor Center. The Center was overcrowded, so, we decided to go a little further to The Continental Divide and not return, but continue down the Western side of this Range. The Model S battery had 174 miles left – no problem.
A few notes:
The glaciers at the Alpine level are definitely getting smaller.
You will notice that a lot of the pines are dying – a direct result of global warming that is increasing the tree’s susceptibility to the pine beetle.
These are just a few more reasons to drive an EV instead of a gas-mobile when visiting a national park.
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