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Homeward Bound
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3rd California Roadtrip - Part 3
Driving Back Home
Mark D Larsen
September 19-20, 2025

Like in Part 1 of this roadtrip, we knew that it would take us two full days to drive home again. Our intent was to simply retrace our steps, but we decided to take just one slight detour by first driving to Truckee, CA. We wanted to give ourselves something of a double treat to celebrate our 31st anniversary a few days earlier, and also celebrate Moxie’s 5th birthday that very day. Enjoy our odyssey home!

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

This is our initial video as we start driving up I-80.

Knowing that the climb to reach Truckee would be very steep, I had plugged Rocinante’s portable charger into a 120V outlet to add a few more miles of range overnight. We thus departed with 92% in the battery. As I mention in the above video, the navigation estimated that we'd arrive in Truckee with 42%.

The views of the Sierra Nevada were very impressive as we climbed higher.

The pine forests became denser as we drove.

There were a few spots along I-80 with construction along the sides to repair on- and off- ramps.

In this video we had apparently started to drop down a bit as we approached Donner Summit.

Building the railway through these mountains, visible in this photo, must have been quite an engineering feat.

We pulled off at the viewpoint for Donner Lake, just a few miles before reaching Truckee.

This is the vista from that viewpoint.

Tamara was happy to stretch her legs and marvel at the beauty below us.

Moxie and I were likewise glad to take a short break.

And here is Moxie showing her constant happiness when traveling with us.

In this video we continue to descend to reach the exit to Truckee.

We arrived at the chargers in Truckee with 47% left in the battery after driving 85.3 miles on I-80. As expected, our energy efficiency was only 2.4 miles-per-kWh, due to the steep climb to reach the summit.

I decided to park on the opposite side of the chargers to make it easier for the cable to reach Rocinante's charge port.

The charger wasn't the fastest we've seen, but it nonetheless was still cranking out 114 kW when we unplugged.

The guess-o-meter displayed 237 miles of range for us to reach the next chargers in Bridgeport.

We drove just a few blocks to the main shopping area in Truckee.

The vintage train station housed a nice museum, gift shop, and restrooms.

Tamara immediately started scouting out the numerous shops along the street.

I finally saw her emerge from one shop.

On the other side of the train tracks we could see the old miner huts apparently still functioning as small private homes.

We kept wandering the streets and found a Mexican restaurant where we decided to have lunch.

Tamara was ready to sample the fare, sheltered from the drizzle under an umbrella.

Moxie and I were delighted that they allowed doggies on the outdoor patio.

I ordered a quesadilla with carne asada. It was the tastiest I've ever had, but I later learned not to eat one of the leftovers right before bed as they were truly spicy.

Tamara ordered chicken tortilla soup, which was served in a unique way that allowed you to select the fillings you wanted to dip into the broth. It was delicious!

After lunch and more shopping, we left to continue our journey, driving through the pine forests to the north shore of Lake Tahoe.

It was a cloudy, misty day as Tamara took these videos of the lake.

We stopped at one viewpoint to take photos of the impressive vistas.

We even took a path down to the water where large boulders lined the beach.

As usual, Moxie posed like a show dog model.

Looking past the boulders to the opposite side of the lake.

More videos as we kept driving around the north shore to connect to the road that would take us to Highway 395 again.

And here we are on that highway, driving past Topaz Lake where we'd spent the night on a couple of previous trips to CA.

We arrived back in Bridgeport after driving 118.9 miles in nearly 3 hours with an energy efficiency of 3.9 miles-per-kWh, and 42% still in the battery.

This time there were two more EVs plugged but at least one 150 kW charger was available.

We noted that the gas prices there were shockingly high. I should clarify that I didn't use these prices when calculating the comparative costs on the first page of this roadtrip, but rather than EIA's price for CA that week: $4.934 per gallon.

On that slower charger, the rate started at 173 kW.

When the battery almost reached 80%, it was still cranking out 107 kW.

We now had a "guesstimate" range of 225 miles to return to Bishop.

We again drove to Mono Lake, and stopped to take this panorama shot.

Here is a video as we drove past the lake.

Looking toward the lake.

We passed these foothills that looked to me like melted ice cream.

We surmised that the ski resort in the distance was Mammoth.

Here is a zoomed shot of those ski slopes.

As we again drove through the forests near Mammoth, the skies were cloudy and misty. You'll see in this video that a colorful rainbow appeared. We were lucky to be there at that particular moment!

Another billowing cloud as the light faded toward dusk.

We saw the mountain ahead that looms over Bishop where we would again spend the night.

The next morning Moxie and I went to charge the car before packing up and continuing our journey.

We had driven 89.3 miles from Bridgeport the previous day and arrived with 50% still in the battery, having achieved an efficiency of 3.8 miles-per-kWh.

The charging rate ended at 91 kW, perhaps the lowest of the trip. Maybe because it was cold that morning, but I suspect the charger had limited power.

We now supposedly had 211 miles of range to return to Coso Junction.

We are leaving Bishop in this video and express our general opinions of how this roadtrip had turned out. Don't mind all the bugs on the windshield.

These are the foothills along the east side of the valley.

And these are the cloud covered peaks on the west side.

We still had 46% in the battery when we arrived in Coso Junction after nearly two hours on the road.

Ours was the only EV there, so we could plug into a hyper fast 350 kW charger.

The initial charging rate was blistering.

When reaching 80% the rate was still at 134 kW.

We now supposedly had 227 miles of range.

This was another peak that looked like it had "melted."

We could see the green fields in Inyokern as we approached a fork in the road.

That fork split the highway to San Bernadino and Los Angeles. We continued on Highway 395 to reach Barstow.

Seeing the road ahead, I couldn’t help but entone the lyrics of a golden oldy song by Cat Stevens: "Look up at the mountain / I have to climb / oh, yeah / to reach there."

As we approached Barstow, we spotted a new solar farm. Good for them!

We had driven 116 miles in over two hours, arriving at the chargers with 34% in the battery.

There are 8 chargers at the Walmart in Barstow, 6 in the rear of the parking lot and 2 up front. We were lucky that all of them were full except one of the 2 near the store, which has plugs for CHAdeMO and 150 kW CCS.

Nonetheless, that 150 kW charger was still putting 156 kW into the battery at the end of our session.

The guess-o-meter now displayed 209 miles of range to return to Primm.

On the drive to Primm, the DOT had closed its rest stops for repair, so we stopped to take a break at this packed convenience store and gas station.

Dropping down to the valley for Primm, I spotted these sharp peaks on the horizon.

All three thermal solar towers were shining away, storing excess energy in their molten salt storage tanks for use at night.

2 hours and 112.7 miles later we arrived at the Primm chargers with 29% in the battery.

The parking lot was practically empty this time, as now the swollen lottery drawing was over.

162 kW topped us up to 80%.

We now had 210 miles of guessed range.

We passed these odd "Seven Magic Mountain” sculptures on the highway to Las Vegas. They strike me as simply huge colored cairns in the middle of the desert.

Approaching Mesquite, I was mystified but the numerous culverts and canyons running off the mountains to the east.

We arrived at the chargers in Mesquite for the last top up before turning home. It had taken us 2 hours to get there, and we still had 32% in the pack.

Rocinante was the only EV plugged in.

The charge rate was still at 157 kW when almost finished.

The guessed range was now 199 miles, the second lowest we'd seen on this roadtrip.

When we pulled into the garage an hour later, having driven 43.2 miles over the Utah Mountain summit with an efficiency of 2.6 miles-per-kWh, we still had a 60% charge and 150 miles on the guess-o-meter.

As you can see in the last photo above, we arrived home with 21,319 miles on the odometer. It had displayed 19,378 miles when we left, as shown in Part 1. 21,319 - 19,378 = 1,941 total miles driven on this roadtrip. I suppose it won’t be too much longer before I hit the threshold for my 3rd maintenance checkup at 24,000 miles —perhaps before we celebrate Rocinante’s 2-year anniversary in four more months!

This is our initial video as we start driving up I-80.
Knowing that the climb to reach Truckee would be very steep, I had plugged Rocinante’s portable charger into a 120V outlet to add a few more miles of range overnight. We thus departed with 92% in the battery. As I mention in the above video, the navigation estimated that we'd arrive in Truckee with 42%.	The views of the Sierra Nevada were very impressive as we climbed higher.
The pine forests became denser as we drove.	There were a few spots along I-80 with construction along the sides to repair on- and off- ramps.
In this video we had apparently started to drop down a bit as we approached Donner Summit.
Building the railway through these mountains, visible in this photo, must have been quite an engineering feat.	We pulled off at the viewpoint for Donner Lake, just a few miles before reaching Truckee.
This is the vista from that viewpoint.	Tamara was happy to stretch her legs and marvel at the beauty below us.
Moxie and I were likewise glad to take a short break.	And here is Moxie showing her constant happiness when traveling with us.
In this video we continue to descend to reach the exit to Truckee.
We arrived at the chargers in Truckee with 47% left in the battery after driving 85.3 miles on I-80. As expected, our energy efficiency was only 2.4 miles-per-kWh, due to the steep climb to reach the summit.	I decided to park on the opposite side of the chargers to make it easier for the cable to reach Rocinante's charge port.
The charger wasn't the fastest we've seen, but it nonetheless was still cranking out 114 kW when we unplugged.	The guess-o-meter displayed 237 miles of range for us to reach the next chargers in Bridgeport.
We drove just a few blocks to the main shopping area in Truckee.	The vintage train station housed a nice museum, gift shop, and restrooms.
Tamara immediately started scouting out the numerous shops along the street.	I finally saw her emerge from one shop.
On the other side of the train tracks we could see the old miner huts apparently still functioning as small private homes.	We kept wandering the streets and found a Mexican restaurant where we decided to have lunch.
Tamara was ready to sample the fare, sheltered from the drizzle under an umbrella.	Moxie and I were delighted that they allowed doggies on the outdoor patio.
I ordered a quesadilla with carne asada. It was the tastiest I've ever had, but I later learned not to eat one of the leftovers right before bed as they were truly spicy.	Tamara ordered chicken tortilla soup, which was served in a unique way that allowed you to select the fillings you wanted to dip into the broth. It was delicious!
After lunch and more shopping, we left to continue our journey, driving through the pine forests to the north shore of Lake Tahoe.
It was a cloudy, misty day as Tamara took these videos of the lake.
We stopped at one viewpoint to take photos of the impressive vistas.	We even took a path down to the water where large boulders lined the beach.
As usual, Moxie posed like a show dog model.	Looking past the boulders to the opposite side of the lake.
More videos as we kept driving around the north shore to connect to the road that would take us to Highway 395 again.
And here we are on that highway, driving past Topaz Lake where we'd spent the night on a couple of previous trips to CA.
We arrived back in Bridgeport after driving 118.9 miles in nearly 3 hours with an energy efficiency of 3.9 miles-per-kWh, and 42% still in the battery.	This time there were two more EVs plugged but at least one 150 kW charger was available.
We noted that the gas prices there were shockingly high. I should clarify that I didn't use these prices when calculating the comparative costs on the first page of this roadtrip, but rather than EIA's price for CA that week: $4.934 per gallon.	On that slower charger, the rate started at 173 kW.
When the battery almost reached 80%, it was still cranking out 107 kW.	We now had a "guesstimate" range of 225 miles to return to Bishop.
We again drove to Mono Lake, and stopped to take this panorama shot.
Here is a video as we drove past the lake.
Looking toward the lake.	We passed these foothills that looked to me like melted ice cream.
We surmised that the ski resort in the distance was Mammoth.	Here is a zoomed shot of those ski slopes.
As we again drove through the forests near Mammoth, the skies were cloudy and misty. You'll see in this video that a colorful rainbow appeared. We were lucky to be there at that particular moment!
Another billowing cloud as the light faded toward dusk.	We saw the mountain ahead that looms over Bishop where we would again spend the night.
The next morning Moxie and I went to charge the car before packing up and continuing our journey.	We had driven 89.3 miles from Bridgeport the previous day and arrived with 50% still in the battery, having achieved an efficiency of 3.8 miles-per-kWh.
The charging rate ended at 91 kW, perhaps the lowest of the trip. Maybe because it was cold that morning, but I suspect the charger had limited power.	We now supposedly had 211 miles of range to return to Coso Junction.
We are leaving Bishop in this video and express our general opinions of how this roadtrip had turned out. Don't mind all the bugs on the windshield.
These are the foothills along the east side of the valley.	And these are the cloud covered peaks on the west side.
We still had 46% in the battery when we arrived in Coso Junction after nearly two hours on the road.	Ours was the only EV there, so we could plug into a hyper fast 350 kW charger.
The initial charging rate was blistering.	When reaching 80% the rate was still at 134 kW.
We now supposedly had 227 miles of range.	This was another peak that looked like it had "melted."
We could see the green fields in Inyokern as we approached a fork in the road.	That fork split the highway to San Bernadino and Los Angeles. We continued on Highway 395 to reach Barstow.
Seeing the road ahead, I couldn’t help but entone the lyrics of a golden oldy song by Cat Stevens: "Look up at the mountain / I have to climb / oh, yeah / to reach there."	As we approached Barstow, we spotted a new solar farm. Good for them!
We had driven 116 miles in over two hours, arriving at the chargers with 34% in the battery.	There are 8 chargers at the Walmart in Barstow, 6 in the rear of the parking lot and 2 up front. We were lucky that all of them were full except one of the 2 near the store, which has plugs for CHAdeMO and 150 kW CCS.
Nonetheless, that 150 kW charger was still putting 156 kW into the battery at the end of our session.	The guess-o-meter now displayed 209 miles of range to return to Primm.
On the drive to Primm, the DOT had closed its rest stops for repair, so we stopped to take a break at this packed convenience store and gas station.	Dropping down to the valley for Primm, I spotted these sharp peaks on the horizon.
All three thermal solar towers were shining away, storing excess energy in their molten salt storage tanks for use at night.	2 hours and 112.7 miles later we arrived at the Primm chargers with 29% in the battery.
The parking lot was practically empty this time, as now the swollen lottery drawing was over.	162 kW topped us up to 80%.
We now had 210 miles of guessed range.	We passed these odd "Seven Magic Mountain” sculptures on the highway to Las Vegas. They strike me as simply huge colored cairns in the middle of the desert.
Approaching Mesquite, I was mystified but the numerous culverts and canyons running off the mountains to the east.	We arrived at the chargers in Mesquite for the last top up before turning home. It had taken us 2 hours to get there, and we still had 32% in the pack.
Rocinante was the only EV plugged in.	The charge rate was still at 157 kW when almost finished.
The guessed range was now 199 miles, the second lowest we'd seen on this roadtrip.	When we pulled into the garage an hour later, having driven 43.2 miles over the Utah Mountain summit with an efficiency of 2.6 miles-per-kWh, we still had a 60% charge and 150 miles on the guess-o-meter.