Day 3 Tesla Model 3 — Colorado through Pacific Northwest USA | 4600 mi Road Trip
Today our goal is to turn north and head towards Idaho. We won’t make Idaho, but need to go in that general direction. This will be mostly interstate driving and hot temperatures. We will see how the Model 3 does traveling 80 mph in 90+ degree heat over long periods. Should be interesting.
We start the day by packing up at Slick Rock campground and head off to Arches. We charge up to 90% at the Moab super charger which is like 4 minutes from the campground.
Arches National Monument
This time, the monument is open. We get in free with our National parks pass (save $30 here) and this pass is going to be very valuable on this trip as we intend to hit as many national monuments as possible.
The park can be driven through and it is spectacular, but bring water even if you don’t hike into the arches. We did a small hike so as not to be the typical tourist. Get out of the car.
Planning the drive
We want to get to Idaho today. That means going to Green River UT, Price UT, then someplace to camp.
This is our trip planner page coming out of Arches and heading to Green River. We are getting great ‘mileage’ even with the Air Con on full blast.
When we get to the I-70 junction, we could have picked up some beef jerky, but Kathy would not let me. I should have at least gotten a T-Shirt! (Sadly, these guys are out of business, at least on planet Earth. For now.)
Autopilot thoughts
On this trip, we have been on side roads, double-lane roads, mountain roads, passes, winding roads, tunnels, Interstates, highways, byways, miles of construction zones, dirt roads, single-lane roads, city streets, and goat paths.
We have used Autopilot for about 90% of the driving.
That’s what I said, and it is very, very good. Makes driving distances so much easier. It is a real luxury.
And that said, it is not 100% reliable. We find passing semi-trucks in the lane next to us on the Interstate can sometimes be an issue. The car can get scared if there are floppy things in the bed or it is carrying cars.
Also, when on a two-lane road with semis approaching, although the Tesla stays in the center of its lane, sometimes the truck on the other side does not. Disconcerting enough that I usually take over control if it looks tight.
Driving on winding mountain roads is okay but can be better. Again, staying in the center of its own lane going into a curve is not okay when the oncoming car hugs (or crosses) the center line. The car should move toward the outside of the lane when doing curves.
Another thing, on mountain roads, speed control needed for steep curves that require reduced speed to manage the turn safely. What we have noticed is, that if there is a sign that indicates a reduced speed PRIOR to entering a turn, the car will slow before entering the curve and all is well. If the turn is not marked (but should be), the car does not realize that it must reduce speed until well into the curve. It makes a jolting brake or sharp turn or it just gives up and pings you to take over. Keep your hands on the wheel at all times.
We will continue to comment on how Autopilot is doing. Strange as it sounds, the car gets better at it the more it is driven. (Might just be me, might be Dojo and the AI learning).
Green River Supercharger
Our first stop is the Green River Supercharger. Nice spot, but not much around. Got there with almost exactly what the Tesla said we would.
My son Bobby told us to try out a local Taco shop. It was authentic as all get out and very good. Just a couple of food trucks parked at an old abandoned gas station turned into a ‘restaurant’. Nice. The people that where already there were startled when we walked up because they did not hear the Tesla. We are stealthy.
Price Supercharger
Nice charger, not much going on but coffee is close and convenient. Again, the Tesla was right on the mark in predicting how much charge we would have on arrival. No surprises.
Price was very hot as well. Here is the Tesla finding us our next campsite while we are still at the Supercharger. So nice to have Internet while driving.
Diamond Campground
This campground is not too far off the main road and is pretty nice. One thing we found out the hard way, is that our small cooler ‘sweated’ while in the back of the car. It did not leak, but the condensation it created made for a lot of wet gear when we unpacked. There was a ‘river’ next to campground but not fishable in any way.
This is what the ‘bed’ looks like when everything is out of the car. I don’t think we will ever use the tent.
In FULL CAMP mode. You can see us drying out some gear in the background while we are cooking dinner.
Tomorrow, we go for IDAHO
