Casteyanqui.com | Electric Vehicles | Drive Electric Earth Month 2024

Drive Electric
Earth Month
April 20, 2024

Mark D Larsen

Line ‘em up!
(Click to enlarge)

As readers know, I have been promoting electric vehicles at Earth Day celebrations ever since 2014. Except for the two years we were advised to avoid public gatherings during the COVID pandemic, I always tried to attend those in Las Vegas —like the one last year.
When I consulted the map for Drive Electric Earth Month this year, I saw that there would be another gathering in Las Vegas, at the Springs Preserve, like two years ago. However, I was also a bit surprised to see that there would be one in Torrey, Utah. Although I knew it would be a smaller EV’ent, given the rather rural community in Central Utah, I decided to register to attend it, as I enjoy meeting other EV advocates and hearing about their roadtrips and experiences driving without a tailpipe. Below is my usual summary of the day trip.

NOTE: You can click on the following photos to enlarge them and movies to play them.

Knowing that it would probably take 5 hours to drive to Torrey, Moxie and I got in the car shortly after 9:00. I had already charged Rocinante to 80%, and reset the charging odometer to zero.

I then set the navigation to guide us to the Electrify America chargers in Beaver.

This is my usual introductory video for the trip.

While climbing the I-15 interstate toward Cedar City, I clicked the button on the EV Display that shows a greenish circle of the range one might expect from the current battery charge. I was surprised to see that I could also swipe through various split screens on the right, including this one that shows the estimated energy useage.

It was a clear day, with a pleasant view of the snow capped mountains next to the freeway.

Moxie has traveled many times on this freeway, and decided to just snuggle up and take a nap.

As we approached Cedar City, here is another view of the mountains to the east.

After leaving Cedar City, I recorded this video with a progress report.

Shortly after that, I discovered that the "cluster" in the binnacle also has scrollable options to see the upcoming navigation direction…

…as well as the remaining distance to the destination and projected time of arrival. Nice! I'm always learning new tricks with this Ioniq 5.

We arrived at the DCFC site in Beaver. I tried to use the 2nd 350kW charger, but… it was broken. Tsk. I then moved over to the 1st 150kW charger and plugged in.

As you can see, I had driven 113.4 miles at 3.1 miles-per-kWh. Not bad!

After initializing the session, the display showed a charging rate of 134kW and estimated that it would take 18 minutes to again reach 80%.

With 1 minute to go, I saw that the charger was still cranking out 134kW. Impressive! In my previous Model 3, the rate had nearly always dropped to around 55kW to reach 80%.

I then set the navigation to take me to the Electrify America chargers in Richfield, and the guess-o-meter guessed a range of 259 miles (263 with climate control) in the battery.

We continued on I-15 for a few miles.

We then turned onto I-70 which took us into the mountains.

The views when approaching Richfield were gorgeous.

I comment on where we'd been, and where we were heading next.

We arrived at the DCFC site in the Walmart parking lot in Richfield. All these units were working, and unoccupied, so I parked in front of the 350kW charger.

We had driven 58.4 miles, at 3.5 miles-per-kWh.

Moxie was glad to get out of the car, stretch her legs, and visit the… “rest room.”

I plugged in, and the charge only took 7 minutes, but I found it curious that the rate at this 350kW charger had dropped to 99kW with 1 minute to go.

We again had an 80% charge, and the guess-o-meter estimated a range of 248 miles.

The navigation to Torrey took us on a steep winding road through the mountains.

Once it connected to Highway 24, we drove past Koosharem reservoir, through Loa, Lyman, and Bicknell, to arrive at Torrey.

We knew we were getting closer when we could see red rock outcroppings.

Such cliffs and formations continue all the way to Capitol Reef National Park, which we have visited before, the last visit just last fall.

We arrived a few minutes early at the Torrey Town Hall after driving 64.5 miles at 3.5 miles-per-kWh.

Moxie was again ready to get out of the car…

…and explore the playground behind the town hall.

After a few minutes, the City Captain, John Lee, arrived and hung up the banner for the DEEM EV’ent.

More EV drivers arrived and lined up their vehicles. In the photo at the top of the page, you can see there were even more models, and a wider variety than anticipated on the registration page.

One of the real highlights of the gathering was this converted electric tractor. I wish I had that kind of skill and dedication!

Another highlight was the Ford F-150 Lightning EV pickup truck, with its cavernous frunk. Attendees were fascinated by it, as many of them also drive trucks.

The owner of the Lightning, Ed, was happy to show off its worktruck features to those attendees. It only makes sense that EV pickups would pique their interest, since such versatile vehicles are needed in these rural communities.

The City Captain, John Lee, is second from the right in this photo. I have to applaud him for his efforts in organizing this EV'ent.

It was fun to see two "sister" EVs, my Hyundia Ioniq 5 and Paul's Kia EV6 right next to each other.

I enjoyed chatting with the other EV owners, and even a few townspeople who stopped by to check out the vehicles, but I didn't stay for the entire 3-hour EV'ent, since I had another 5-hour drive ahead of me to return home. I set the navigation to take me back to the Richfield chargers.

We said goodbye to the red rock cliffs, drove up Highway 24, and then took the road over the mountain again to Richfield.

We arrived with 89 miles left on the guess-o-meter, after driving 128.5 miles round trip, at 3.6 miles-per-kWh.

With 1 minute to go at the same 350kW charger, this time the rate only dropped to 133kW. I would theorize that the number kWh needed when first plugging in affects the charging rate…? Dunno.

I then set the navigation to take us back to Beaver.

Here's a view of the "candy" mountain before entering the canyon to return to I-15.

At this time of day, the chargers were full, but I luckily managed to grab a spot at the 350kW unit. The Rivian was waiting, since that unit was broken. There was also a VW ID.4 waiting across the lot. I only needed 10 minutes to charge, so I hope the others were able to plug in shortly after I left.

I had driven 59.1 miles from Richfield, and arrived with 134 on the guess-so-metter. I had been driving at 75 MPH this time, which lowered my energy consumption to 2.7 miles-per-kWh.

With 1 minute to go, the rate had dropped to 95kW, which seems to validate my previous theory about the kWh upon arrival.

With 80% again in the battery, the guess-o-meter now predicted only 209 miles-of-range. Obviously my energy consumption at higher freeway speeds was having an affect on its guesses.

I set the navigation to take us home.

As we again approached Cedar City, the sun was setting.

We pulled in the garage with 45% left in the battery, and the guess-o-meter displayed 122 miles. The descent from Cedar City had bolstered my consumption to 3.8 miles-per-kWh, thanks to all the regenerative braking.

I was frankly shocked to see how many kamikaze bugs had tried to thwart my drag coefficiency during this day trip. Yuck!

Thank goodness I had installed a "clear bra" and paint protective ceramic coating on the car, which made it much easier to clean off those suicidal insects!

It was a fun day trip to celebrate Earth Day and meet other EV owners, although I have to admit that I was pretty tired after driving more than 10 hours to attend it. I know that those owners often get together to drive EV rallies through the National Parks in Central Utah, and I would like to join them for such events in the future. However, I think it would require staying in a motel for a few nights to thoroughly enjoy such a roadtrip. Let’s hope it can happen!

Knowing that it would probably take 5 hours to drive to Torrey, Moxie and I got in the car shortly after 9:00. I had already charged Rocinante to 80%, and reset the charging odometer to zero.	I then set the navigation to guide us to the Electrify America chargers in Beaver.
This is my usual introductory video for the trip.
While climbing the I-15 interstate toward Cedar City, I clicked the button on the EV Display that shows a greenish circle of the range one might expect from the current battery charge. I was surprised to see that I could also swipe through various split screens on the right, including this one that shows the estimated energy useage.	It was a clear day, with a pleasant view of the snow capped mountains next to the freeway.
Moxie has traveled many times on this freeway, and decided to just snuggle up and take a nap.	As we approached Cedar City, here is another view of the mountains to the east.
After leaving Cedar City, I recorded this video with a progress report.
Shortly after that, I discovered that the "cluster" in the binnacle also has scrollable options to see the upcoming navigation direction…	…as well as the remaining distance to the destination and projected time of arrival. Nice! I'm always learning new tricks with this Ioniq 5.
We arrived at the DCFC site in Beaver. I tried to use the 2nd 350kW charger, but… it was broken. Tsk. I then moved over to the 1st 150kW charger and plugged in.	As you can see, I had driven 113.4 miles at 3.1 miles-per-kWh. Not bad!
After initializing the session, the display showed a charging rate of 134kW and estimated that it would take 18 minutes to again reach 80%.	With 1 minute to go, I saw that the charger was still cranking out 134kW. Impressive! In my previous Model 3, the rate had nearly always dropped to around 55kW to reach 80%.
I then set the navigation to take me to the Electrify America chargers in Richfield, and the guess-o-meter guessed a range of 259 miles (263 with climate control) in the battery.	We continued on I-15 for a few miles.
We then turned onto I-70 which took us into the mountains.	The views when approaching Richfield were gorgeous.
I comment on where we'd been, and where we were heading next.
We arrived at the DCFC site in the Walmart parking lot in Richfield. All these units were working, and unoccupied, so I parked in front of the 350kW charger.	We had driven 58.4 miles, at 3.5 miles-per-kWh.
Moxie was glad to get out of the car, stretch her legs, and visit the… “rest room.”	I plugged in, and the charge only took 7 minutes, but I found it curious that the rate at this 350kW charger had dropped to 99kW with 1 minute to go.
We again had an 80% charge, and the guess-o-meter estimated a range of 248 miles.	The navigation to Torrey took us on a steep winding road through the mountains.
Once it connected to Highway 24, we drove past Koosharem reservoir, through Loa, Lyman, and Bicknell, to arrive at Torrey.	We knew we were getting closer when we could see red rock outcroppings.
Such cliffs and formations continue all the way to Capitol Reef National Park, which we have visited before, the last visit just last fall.	We arrived a few minutes early at the Torrey Town Hall after driving 64.5 miles at 3.5 miles-per-kWh.
Moxie was again ready to get out of the car…	…and explore the playground behind the town hall.
After a few minutes, the City Captain, John Lee, arrived and hung up the banner for the DEEM EV’ent.	More EV drivers arrived and lined up their vehicles. In the photo at the top of the page, you can see there were even more models, and a wider variety than anticipated on the registration page.
One of the real highlights of the gathering was this converted electric tractor. I wish I had that kind of skill and dedication!	Another highlight was the Ford F-150 Lightning EV pickup truck, with its cavernous frunk. Attendees were fascinated by it, as many of them also drive trucks.
The owner of the Lightning, Ed, was happy to show off its worktruck features to those attendees. It only makes sense that EV pickups would pique their interest, since such versatile vehicles are needed in these rural communities.	The City Captain, John Lee, is second from the right in this photo. I have to applaud him for his efforts in organizing this EV'ent.
It was fun to see two "sister" EVs, my Hyundia Ioniq 5 and Paul's Kia EV6 right next to each other.	I enjoyed chatting with the other EV owners, and even a few townspeople who stopped by to check out the vehicles, but I didn't stay for the entire 3-hour EV'ent, since I had another 5-hour drive ahead of me to return home. I set the navigation to take me back to the Richfield chargers.
We said goodbye to the red rock cliffs, drove up Highway 24, and then took the road over the mountain again to Richfield.	We arrived with 89 miles left on the guess-o-meter, after driving 128.5 miles round trip, at 3.6 miles-per-kWh.
With 1 minute to go at the same 350kW charger, this time the rate only dropped to 133kW. I would theorize that the number kWh needed when first plugging in affects the charging rate…? Dunno.	I then set the navigation to take us back to Beaver.
Here's a view of the "candy" mountain before entering the canyon to return to I-15.	At this time of day, the chargers were full, but I luckily managed to grab a spot at the 350kW unit. The Rivian was waiting, since that unit was broken. There was also a VW ID.4 waiting across the lot. I only needed 10 minutes to charge, so I hope the others were able to plug in shortly after I left.
I had driven 59.1 miles from Richfield, and arrived with 134 on the guess-so-metter. I had been driving at 75 MPH this time, which lowered my energy consumption to 2.7 miles-per-kWh.	With 1 minute to go, the rate had dropped to 95kW, which seems to validate my previous theory about the kWh upon arrival.
With 80% again in the battery, the guess-o-meter now predicted only 209 miles-of-range. Obviously my energy consumption at higher freeway speeds was having an affect on its guesses.	I set the navigation to take us home.
As we again approached Cedar City, the sun was setting.	We pulled in the garage with 45% left in the battery, and the guess-o-meter displayed 122 miles. The descent from Cedar City had bolstered my consumption to 3.8 miles-per-kWh, thanks to all the regenerative braking.
I was frankly shocked to see how many kamikaze bugs had tried to thwart my drag coefficiency during this day trip. Yuck!	Thank goodness I had installed a "clear bra" and paint protective ceramic coating on the car, which made it much easier to clean off those suicidal insects!