Let’s say you decide to do something differently. You decide to go vegan to improve your health. You do a lot of research about foods you could eat and food you actually like to eat. You set a date to move over completely, or you slowly initiate more vegan meals. The reality is more complicated than the theory.
So has it been to go electric. In theory, having an all electric car in California is so last decade.Lots of folks are on their third Tesla. And in town, I hardly use any wattage. It is amazingly fast and quiet and fun. I charge at home so there is no delay and I get to run around town feeling quite righteous. The challenge and the adventure is when we go on the road.
Our regular route to Mammoth is a little over 300 miles. When we take Paul’s car, we stop once to get gas. We do a lot of off road driving so we want at least 1/2 tank when we get to Mammoth. Overall, we may use 3 tanks of gas in the trip. On our drive up in my Ionic 5 we left with the EV at 93%. It was 104 degrees in Mojave when we stopped to charge for the first time. We took turns finding shade for Bogie, and using the restroom. It took 11 minutes to charge to 80% and we were on our way. We stopped again in Olancha since I have now learned to not run the car down too far. Again, it was over 100 and it took about 14 minutes. Paul and Bogie stood in the shade.
These long pauses create a different kind of mindset around the journey. My default mindset could be described as “always in a hurry”. Forced breaks is a new concept for me. And shockingly, I am quite enjoying it. I look more carefully at the place I stop. I slow down my ‘rushingness”. I become more creative in my thinking. When we stopped to charge after dinner in Bishop it was cool and I did a quick trip to Vons for a few items. Paul and Bogie discovered a trove of feral cats in the bushes near the chargers. If you are a little tired with yourself or bored with your pattern, try that thing you thought might be good in theory. The reality might be a grand adventure.
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Photo of giant dandelions in Bishop parking lot.