Casteyanqui.com | Electric Vehicles | 1st California Roadtrip in our Ioniq 5

1st California Roadtrip
in our Ioniq 5

Mark D Larsen

September 10-19, 2024

To heck with fossil foolishness!
(Click to enlarge)

We actually drove our 11th roadtrip to the Sacramento area to visit Tamara’s family just last Christmas, but this 12th trip was the first time we’ve done it in our new Ioniq 5, Rocinante. I will say up front that the car handled flawlessly, much better than on our last few trips in our previous Model 3. It was pleasantly quiet, relaxing, responsive, with very good driver assistance for lane keep and adaptive cruise control. For those only interested in the EV stats for the trip, here is a summary table:

Miles driven: 1,689
kWh used: 514
Mi/kWh: 3.29
DC Fast Charges: 16
Average minutes per charge: 13
Average cost per charge: $0
Total cost: $0

Yes, those fueling costs are accurate, thanks to the 2 years of free 30-minute charges from Electrify America that came with Rocinante. In fact, we also charged once at a 64kW ChargePoint station sponsored by the Visitor Center in Gardnerville, Nevada —which was also free!
I’ll be sad when our free charging ends, as the prices keep rising among DCFC providers. By my estimates, according to the prices quoted on the station readouts, without that 2-year plan we would have paid about $288 to Electrify America on this trip. In fact, if we had driven a similarly sized 25 mpg Hyundai Tucson instead, we would have paid about $305 at the gas pump —so we only saved about $17! Go figure.
Obviously, the true fuel savings with an EV comes with local driving and charging at home, with much lower kWh rates than at DCFC stations on a roadtrip, especially with rooftop solar —like we have. It certainly didn’t used to be that way when we first started driving on electricity. For example, on our first roadtrip to visit Tamara’s family 6 years ago, we paid $82.94 to recharge our EV round trip, but would have paid $359.06 at the gas pump. Once again laissez-faire capitalist greed has now found a way to profit off of the inevitable transition to EVs and renewable energy. Tsk.
On a positive note, I must say that charging at Electrify America was easier than I anticipated. Thanks to the uncongested route we took, most of the times when we stopped there were no other EVs plugged in, and only a couple of times did we have to use a “lowly” 150kW station, which was still impressively fast —much faster than we ever experienced at Tesla Superchargers. The average 13 minutes it took to charge to 80% was almost too fast to visit the restrooms. I seriously doubt that drivers of gas cars need less time when refueling, unless they are some sort of new Marvel Superhero: “Bladderman.”
The reason we took this 12th roadtrip to California was to attend the wedding reception of Tamara’s niece Dana and her husband Nate. It was a delightful celebration, and it was fun to see all her family again. As a matter of fact, we might be repeating the trip sometime soon, perhaps for Thanksgiving or Christmas, as her other niece Haley is expecting a baby, due to give birth just next month. We’ll see!
Below is my usual extremely long-winded diatribe of this roadtrip for readers who are gluttons for tedious boredom.

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

Knowing from experience that charging in Las Vegas would likely be a crapshoot (pun!), I charged Rocinante to 100% at home so that we could drive past it and reach Primm, NV, to plug in at the new Electrify America stations there.

Moxie realized that a roadtrip was imminent when she saw us loading our suitcases. Here she is in her car seat, excited for another adventure.

My usual introductory video.

Crossing into Nevada.

Construction zone on I-15.

More construction entering Las Vegas.

Nearly to Primm, NV.

Stats upon arriving in Primm

We were the only EV plugged in.

The charge started at around 221kW.

I was impressed that the charge was still an astounding 158kW with 1% more to go.

At 80% we now had 250 miles of range on the guess-o-meter (GoM).

If we turned off climate control, the range would be 266 miles. Quite a difference in such hot weather.

Leaving Primm and on the way to Barstow.

A quick glimpse of the charging stations in Baker, CA.

I'm always intrigued by the unique formations to the side of the I-15 freeway.

I had to chuckle at how much regen was being put back into the battery as we descended the steep highway on the way to Barstow.

Another view of that odd landscape.

The stats when we arrived in Barstow.

The charge only reached 115kW when we first plugged in.

That was expected because the only charger available was a "lowly" 150kW unit.

What amazed me was that, when the battery approached 80%, the 115kW rate was still the same! A Tesla Supercharger would have dropped to only ~1/3rd that rate.

The GoM now estimated 209 miles of range, fairly accurate for an 80% charge according to the EPA estimates for Rocinante.

We were horrified to see smoke from the Line Fire near San Bernadino blowing up to the east of Barstow.

That smoke then started to turn red from the fire's flames.

We were relieved that we were not going to continue on I-15 and could instead leave that disaster behind by taking Highway 395 north.

On the road to our next charging stop in Olancha, at the Coso Junction.

Our first view of the eastern side of the Sierra Nevada.

In her car seat Moxie was a snug as a bug in a rug.

We passed the cone of a dormant volcano en route.

Heading up Highway 395 along the backside of the Sierra Nevada.

Rocinante's stats upon arriving at the Coso Junction chargers.

Again, ours was the only EV plugged in.

The initial charge was at a whopping 228kW.

With 2 minutes to go, it had dropped to 157kW.

And that rate continued all the way to 80%.

We now had 190 miles-of-range on the GoM.

The charger's display reported that we'd put 45 kWh into the battery in only 13 minutes, at a cost of… zip, zilch, zero. Phew!

We set the navigation to take us to our motel in Bishop, and it estimated that we'd arrive there with 29% left in the battery.

As the sun set behind the Sierra Nevada, we were treated to picturesque views like this one with a small, partial rainbow.

There were swirls of clouds up ahead.

Which transformed into a gorgeous sunset as we approached Bishop.

When we arrived, we still had 37% left in the battery —not the 29% predicted.

Moxie was delighted to check into our motel room. She sure loves her adventures.

Early the next morning, I drove to the local Electrify America chargers. I had reset the charging odometer at the motel, and these were the stats on the display.

Again, nobody else was plugged in so early in the morning, although one unit wasn’t working.

When Rocinante again had an 80% charge, the GoM predicted 200 miles of range.

Leaving Bishop and heading to Bridgeport.

Beautiful vista of the Sierra Nevada peaks.

Another view

Yet another.

Still more.

Approaching Mono Lake, where Clint Eastwood’s movie "High Plains Drifter" was filmed.

The peaks behind the lake.

At a viewpoint overlooking the lake.

A more gorgeous shot at that viewpoint.

Moxie has a love-hate relationship with the livestock that we see on our roadtrips. What a watchdog! Do Pomeranians have a herding instinct? Doubt it.

Our stats upon arrival in Bridgeport.

Again, the sole EV at the chargers.

Again, 158kW charging rate when nearly finished. So impressive!

A 194 mile guess'time on the display.

We had originally planned to drive from Bridgeport to Placerville, but road construction thwarted us. We had to take a detour back into Nevada, then drive through Gardnerville to South Lake Tahoe to plug in there. Here we are descending into the Lake Tahoe area.

The stats when we arrived at those chargers. We had to plug in to a 150kW unit, as all the other were occupied. Not surprising for the Lake Tahoe area.

Here's the rate when almost done. Still plenty fast!

The GoM now guessed 218 miles of range.

Driving along the shoreline of Lake Tahoe.

Even though we had enough range to reach the home of Tamara’s parents in Lincoln, we decided to navigate to the chargers in Auburn so that we'd have plenty of miles for local driving while there. Here we are leaving Lake Tahoe and then descending Highway 50 to the Sacramento area.

I had to snap this photo to show that the descent had raised our energy efficiency to 9.8 miles-per-kWh. Yowza!

A view on the highway.

Another view.

Pines in the canyon.

We finally emerged from the forests, and you can appreciate why they call California the “golden state.”

Stats upon arrival in Auburn.

As expected in an urban area, there were more EVs plugged in, but we found a spot without any problem.

Almost done.

A guess'timate of 239 miles for driving around town.

Moxie was back in familiar territory at Tamara's parents' home.

She found her usual place on the couch.

And the usual lap of Tamara's 95-year old dad.

Always a good spot for cuddles.

Three days later we donned our apparel to attend the wedding reception.

We're about to go in to the venue, after parking Rocinante across the street.

Here are Dana and Nate with his parents and her mom, Tamara's sister Lisa.

Her other niece Haley and Charlie were taking lots of photos.

Here's proud Tamara with darling Dana.

And here she is with her cousin Holly and her sister Lisa.

You can see that Haley is getting “ripe” for the delivery next month.

The vast majority of the guests were Dana's friends from high school and college.

Dana and Nate are listening to the speeches given my friends and family to honor them.

This is Nate's brother and sister-in-law.

Haley and Charlie took a turn at the mike.

Of course Lisa was effervescent yet tearful to see another daughter wed.

Nate and Dana thanked everyone for their kind words and wedding gifts.

Here is Dana with her sister-in-law best friend.

Back at Tamara's folks' house, Moxie was right at home in their back yard.

Here she is waiting for the family to arrive on the next afternoon.

Dana took a turn cuddling Moxie.

And she found her usual place on Tamara's dad's lap.

The usual family legends were told, which really gave Dana the giggles.

Tamara took her turn with the lap dog.

Her mom and Charlie caught up on how his work is going as a prosecuter.

Now it's Lisa's turn to get Moxie's fur all over her.

After all the fun and festivities, a few days later we started our journey back home. Here we are at the very recently repaired Electrify America Chargers in Rocklin.

The charge was full blown at 236kW.

Other EVs were plugged in, but there were other spaces available for us.

The GoM now estimated 266 miles with an 80% charge. Local driving is obviously more efficient.

From there we only drove 39 miles to the chargers in Placerville, wanting to have plenty of charge to make it back to Bridgeport, despite the climb up Highway 50.

The first charger we plugged into wasn't working, so I moved to an adjacent stall.

Thank goodness all the stalls were unoccupied, so it was no problem.

When finished, we had 252 miles on the GoM.

Leaving the Sacramento area and climbing back up Highway 50.

Still going, with picturesque views among the pines.

More views of the forest.

And more.

Even more.

Still more.

At the summit we ran into a cloudburst, the first serious rain storm we've ever driven though in Rocinante. It handled it just fine!

Here we are descending from the summit, with Lake Tahoe in the distance.

Now we're leaving the mountains and driving toward Gardnerville.

Entering the Gardnerville valley. Oddly enough, Rocinante's navigation system kept directing us to a waypoint with a ChargePoint station, over and over again, even though we clicked on the button to ignore it.

These are the stats when we arrived at the Chargepoint station. We still have 41% in the battery, and 116 miles on the GoM, even though Bridgeport was only 72 miles away.

ChargePoint units usually charge at no more than 64kW, so it would take over a half hour to reach 80%. I decided to only charge to about 65%, as I was still skeptical that we needed to charge here.

The station was in an isolated spot, but on the bright side the charging was free, since it was sponsored by the Gardnerville Visitor Center.

Tamara took some widescreen shots of the lake as we approached Bridgeport.

And here is another photo with clouds over the mountain peaks in the background.

These are the stats upon arrival, which tells me that we could have made it here without stopping in Gardnerville, but… no harm done.

The charge rate was lower than usual, but perhaps I should have waited for it to crank up higher before taking this photo.

When finished, we had 213 miles on the GoM.

We'd added 39 kWh in 18 minutes, which was indeed a bit slower than at other sites.

We kept going to our motel in Bishop, and again drove past Mono Lake.

The views of the Sierra Nevada showed us that the rain earlier had put the first dusting of snow for the season on the highest peeks

While driving on Highway 395 past the turnoffs to Mammoth.

A rainy view of the pines.

More dusting of snow on the Sierras.

The backside of the range really is beautiful.

As you can see in these photos.

We spent the night in the same motel, and then I went to charge at the same Bishop site the next morning.

Nobody else was there, and the charger worked without a hitch.

Maybe because of the colder weather, the rate had slowed down more than usual when nearly finished.

At 80%, we had 206 miles on the GoM.

We headed out to the next chargers in Coso Junction, enjoying the views of the mountains.

Like this one.

And this one.

And here.

And here.

And here.

And here.

And here.

And here.

And here, with a steep dirt zig-zag road up the mountain.

Upon arrival at Coso Junction.

The usual blistering charge rate.

It had dropped to 134kW when nearly done.

237 miles guessed for range.

A few jagged peaks on the lower Sierra range.

Spotted ourselves in the "mirror" of a tanker truck on the road back to Barstow.

That road has a lot of ups-and-downs in it, as you can see in this clip.

The stats when we arrived in Barstow.

The charging rate started out strong.

We were actually lucky to find a spot this time, sandwiched between a Hummer EV and a VW ID.4. Rocinante, of course, charged the fastest of the lot.

Ending with 158kW still feeding the battery.

236 miles on the GoM to return to Primm.

Passed these mining terraces that Tamara called "Machu Picchu." Hahaha!

Back at Primm on the display.

Charging just as fast as ever.

After a few minutes a VW ID.4 plugged in next to us, the only other EV at that site.

Again, the charge rate was still at 157kW when we finished. I set our navigation to take us to the site in Mesquite so we’d still have plenty of juice in the battery when we pulled into the garage at home.

As I anticipated at my first free service appointment, Rocinante crossed the 8,000-mile threshold on this trip, coincidentally right before we got into the typical traffic jam in Las Vegas.

The sun was setting in our digital rearview mirror while driving toward Mesquite.

The colors were reflected on the hills ahead of us.

We arrived in Mesquite with these stats on the dashboard, more than enough to drive the remaining 43 miles home.

Still, I plugged in to charge to 80%, regardless.

I was astounded when a camoflouged prototype plugged in next to us, with Michigan license plates. I am convinced it was an Ioniq 9 three-row SUV, slated to be released next year as a sister model to the Kia EV9.

The drivers weren’t keen on anyone taking close-up photos, but I swear I spotted that it was plugged in with a CCS1-to-J3400 adapter, thus sporting the latter type of charging port. At least that's my guess.

At 80%, we now had 215 miles on the GoM to reach home.

When we exited the canyon, there was a full moon over the desert landscape.

We arrived with a 60% charge, and 153 miles on the GoM.

Rocinante now had 8,132.1 miles on the odometer, with an average energy efficiency of 3.4 miles-per-kWh. That's higher than the 2.94 rating that the EPA gives for an Ioniq 5 Long Range AWD. No complaints from me!

After such a long distance roadtrip, I am delighted with my decision to transition to this EV. It has proven to be a real joy on the highways, not just fulfilling, but even exceeding my hopes and expectations for Rocinante.

Miles driven:	1,689
kWh used:	514
Mi/kWh:	3.29
DC Fast Charges:	16
Average minutes per charge:	13
Average cost per charge:	$0
Total cost:	$0

Knowing from experience that charging in Las Vegas would likely be a crapshoot (pun!), I charged Rocinante to 100% at home so that we could drive past it and reach Primm, NV, to plug in at the new Electrify America stations there.	Moxie realized that a roadtrip was imminent when she saw us loading our suitcases. Here she is in her car seat, excited for another adventure.
My usual introductory video.
Crossing into Nevada.
Construction zone on I-15.
More construction entering Las Vegas.
Nearly to Primm, NV.
Stats upon arriving in Primm	We were the only EV plugged in.
The charge started at around 221kW.	I was impressed that the charge was still an astounding 158kW with 1% more to go.
At 80% we now had 250 miles of range on the guess-o-meter (GoM).	If we turned off climate control, the range would be 266 miles. Quite a difference in such hot weather.
Leaving Primm and on the way to Barstow.
A quick glimpse of the charging stations in Baker, CA.	I'm always intrigued by the unique formations to the side of the I-15 freeway.
I had to chuckle at how much regen was being put back into the battery as we descended the steep highway on the way to Barstow.	Another view of that odd landscape.
The stats when we arrived in Barstow.	The charge only reached 115kW when we first plugged in.
That was expected because the only charger available was a "lowly" 150kW unit.	What amazed me was that, when the battery approached 80%, the 115kW rate was still the same! A Tesla Supercharger would have dropped to only ~1/3rd that rate.
The GoM now estimated 209 miles of range, fairly accurate for an 80% charge according to the EPA estimates for Rocinante.	We were horrified to see smoke from the Line Fire near San Bernadino blowing up to the east of Barstow.
That smoke then started to turn red from the fire's flames.	We were relieved that we were not going to continue on I-15 and could instead leave that disaster behind by taking Highway 395 north.
On the road to our next charging stop in Olancha, at the Coso Junction.
Our first view of the eastern side of the Sierra Nevada.	In her car seat Moxie was a snug as a bug in a rug.
We passed the cone of a dormant volcano en route.	Heading up Highway 395 along the backside of the Sierra Nevada.
Rocinante's stats upon arriving at the Coso Junction chargers.	Again, ours was the only EV plugged in.
The initial charge was at a whopping 228kW.	With 2 minutes to go, it had dropped to 157kW.
And that rate continued all the way to 80%.	We now had 190 miles-of-range on the GoM.
The charger's display reported that we'd put 45 kWh into the battery in only 13 minutes, at a cost of… zip, zilch, zero. Phew!	We set the navigation to take us to our motel in Bishop, and it estimated that we'd arrive there with 29% left in the battery.
As the sun set behind the Sierra Nevada, we were treated to picturesque views like this one with a small, partial rainbow.	There were swirls of clouds up ahead.
Which transformed into a gorgeous sunset as we approached Bishop.	When we arrived, we still had 37% left in the battery —not the 29% predicted.
Moxie was delighted to check into our motel room. She sure loves her adventures.	Early the next morning, I drove to the local Electrify America chargers. I had reset the charging odometer at the motel, and these were the stats on the display.
Again, nobody else was plugged in so early in the morning, although one unit wasn’t working.	When Rocinante again had an 80% charge, the GoM predicted 200 miles of range.
Leaving Bishop and heading to Bridgeport.
Beautiful vista of the Sierra Nevada peaks.	Another view
Yet another.	Still more.
Approaching Mono Lake, where Clint Eastwood’s movie "High Plains Drifter" was filmed.	The peaks behind the lake.
At a viewpoint overlooking the lake.	A more gorgeous shot at that viewpoint.
Moxie has a love-hate relationship with the livestock that we see on our roadtrips. What a watchdog! Do Pomeranians have a herding instinct? Doubt it.
Our stats upon arrival in Bridgeport.	Again, the sole EV at the chargers.
Again, 158kW charging rate when nearly finished. So impressive!	A 194 mile guess'time on the display.
We had originally planned to drive from Bridgeport to Placerville, but road construction thwarted us. We had to take a detour back into Nevada, then drive through Gardnerville to South Lake Tahoe to plug in there. Here we are descending into the Lake Tahoe area.
The stats when we arrived at those chargers. We had to plug in to a 150kW unit, as all the other were occupied. Not surprising for the Lake Tahoe area.	Here's the rate when almost done. Still plenty fast!
The GoM now guessed 218 miles of range.	Driving along the shoreline of Lake Tahoe.
Even though we had enough range to reach the home of Tamara’s parents in Lincoln, we decided to navigate to the chargers in Auburn so that we'd have plenty of miles for local driving while there. Here we are leaving Lake Tahoe and then descending Highway 50 to the Sacramento area.
I had to snap this photo to show that the descent had raised our energy efficiency to 9.8 miles-per-kWh. Yowza!	A view on the highway.
Another view.	Pines in the canyon.
We finally emerged from the forests, and you can appreciate why they call California the “golden state.”
Stats upon arrival in Auburn.	As expected in an urban area, there were more EVs plugged in, but we found a spot without any problem.
Almost done.	A guess'timate of 239 miles for driving around town.
Moxie was back in familiar territory at Tamara's parents' home.	She found her usual place on the couch.
And the usual lap of Tamara's 95-year old dad.	Always a good spot for cuddles.
Three days later we donned our apparel to attend the wedding reception.	We're about to go in to the venue, after parking Rocinante across the street.
Here are Dana and Nate with his parents and her mom, Tamara's sister Lisa.	Her other niece Haley and Charlie were taking lots of photos.
Here's proud Tamara with darling Dana.	And here she is with her cousin Holly and her sister Lisa.
You can see that Haley is getting “ripe” for the delivery next month.	The vast majority of the guests were Dana's friends from high school and college.
Dana and Nate are listening to the speeches given my friends and family to honor them.	This is Nate's brother and sister-in-law.
Haley and Charlie took a turn at the mike.	Of course Lisa was effervescent yet tearful to see another daughter wed.
Nate and Dana thanked everyone for their kind words and wedding gifts.	Here is Dana with her sister-in-law best friend.
Back at Tamara's folks' house, Moxie was right at home in their back yard.	Here she is waiting for the family to arrive on the next afternoon.
Dana took a turn cuddling Moxie.	And she found her usual place on Tamara's dad's lap.
The usual family legends were told, which really gave Dana the giggles.	Tamara took her turn with the lap dog.
Her mom and Charlie caught up on how his work is going as a prosecuter.	Now it's Lisa's turn to get Moxie's fur all over her.
After all the fun and festivities, a few days later we started our journey back home. Here we are at the very recently repaired Electrify America Chargers in Rocklin.	The charge was full blown at 236kW.
Other EVs were plugged in, but there were other spaces available for us.	The GoM now estimated 266 miles with an 80% charge. Local driving is obviously more efficient.
From there we only drove 39 miles to the chargers in Placerville, wanting to have plenty of charge to make it back to Bridgeport, despite the climb up Highway 50.	The first charger we plugged into wasn't working, so I moved to an adjacent stall.
Thank goodness all the stalls were unoccupied, so it was no problem.	When finished, we had 252 miles on the GoM.
Leaving the Sacramento area and climbing back up Highway 50.
Still going, with picturesque views among the pines.
More views of the forest.	And more.
Even more.	Still more.
At the summit we ran into a cloudburst, the first serious rain storm we've ever driven though in Rocinante. It handled it just fine!
Here we are descending from the summit, with Lake Tahoe in the distance.
Now we're leaving the mountains and driving toward Gardnerville.
Entering the Gardnerville valley. Oddly enough, Rocinante's navigation system kept directing us to a waypoint with a ChargePoint station, over and over again, even though we clicked on the button to ignore it.	These are the stats when we arrived at the Chargepoint station. We still have 41% in the battery, and 116 miles on the GoM, even though Bridgeport was only 72 miles away.
ChargePoint units usually charge at no more than 64kW, so it would take over a half hour to reach 80%. I decided to only charge to about 65%, as I was still skeptical that we needed to charge here.	The station was in an isolated spot, but on the bright side the charging was free, since it was sponsored by the Gardnerville Visitor Center.
Tamara took some widescreen shots of the lake as we approached Bridgeport.	And here is another photo with clouds over the mountain peaks in the background.
These are the stats upon arrival, which tells me that we could have made it here without stopping in Gardnerville, but… no harm done.	The charge rate was lower than usual, but perhaps I should have waited for it to crank up higher before taking this photo.
When finished, we had 213 miles on the GoM.	We'd added 39 kWh in 18 minutes, which was indeed a bit slower than at other sites.
We kept going to our motel in Bishop, and again drove past Mono Lake.	The views of the Sierra Nevada showed us that the rain earlier had put the first dusting of snow for the season on the highest peeks
While driving on Highway 395 past the turnoffs to Mammoth.
A rainy view of the pines.	More dusting of snow on the Sierras.
The backside of the range really is beautiful.	As you can see in these photos.
We spent the night in the same motel, and then I went to charge at the same Bishop site the next morning.	Nobody else was there, and the charger worked without a hitch.
Maybe because of the colder weather, the rate had slowed down more than usual when nearly finished.	At 80%, we had 206 miles on the GoM.
We headed out to the next chargers in Coso Junction, enjoying the views of the mountains.	Like this one.
And this one.	And here.
And here.	And here.
And here.	And here.
And here.	And here, with a steep dirt zig-zag road up the mountain.
Upon arrival at Coso Junction.	The usual blistering charge rate.
It had dropped to 134kW when nearly done.	237 miles guessed for range.
A few jagged peaks on the lower Sierra range.	Spotted ourselves in the "mirror" of a tanker truck on the road back to Barstow.
That road has a lot of ups-and-downs in it, as you can see in this clip.
The stats when we arrived in Barstow.	The charging rate started out strong.
We were actually lucky to find a spot this time, sandwiched between a Hummer EV and a VW ID.4. Rocinante, of course, charged the fastest of the lot.	Ending with 158kW still feeding the battery.
236 miles on the GoM to return to Primm.	Passed these mining terraces that Tamara called "Machu Picchu." Hahaha!
Back at Primm on the display.	Charging just as fast as ever.
After a few minutes a VW ID.4 plugged in next to us, the only other EV at that site.	Again, the charge rate was still at 157kW when we finished. I set our navigation to take us to the site in Mesquite so we’d still have plenty of juice in the battery when we pulled into the garage at home.
As I anticipated at my first free service appointment, Rocinante crossed the 8,000-mile threshold on this trip, coincidentally right before we got into the typical traffic jam in Las Vegas.
The sun was setting in our digital rearview mirror while driving toward Mesquite.	The colors were reflected on the hills ahead of us.
We arrived in Mesquite with these stats on the dashboard, more than enough to drive the remaining 43 miles home.	Still, I plugged in to charge to 80%, regardless.
I was astounded when a camoflouged prototype plugged in next to us, with Michigan license plates. I am convinced it was an Ioniq 9 three-row SUV, slated to be released next year as a sister model to the Kia EV9.	The drivers weren’t keen on anyone taking close-up photos, but I swear I spotted that it was plugged in with a CCS1-to-J3400 adapter, thus sporting the latter type of charging port. At least that's my guess.
At 80%, we now had 215 miles on the GoM to reach home.	When we exited the canyon, there was a full moon over the desert landscape.
We arrived with a 60% charge, and 153 miles on the GoM.	Rocinante now had 8,132.1 miles on the odometer, with an average energy efficiency of 3.4 miles-per-kWh. That's higher than the 2.94 rating that the EPA gives for an Ioniq 5 Long Range AWD. No complaints from me!