Trip Report: Seattle to Glacier National Park

[PappaBolt]

We did a 4 day trip this weekend too but to Boise ( similar distance). We used EA at Taco Bell on Thursday morning but had to wait 30 minutes before charging. Perhaps you saw us when you arrived.

Charging was a mixed experience. Quiet at EA Kennewick. Busy at EA Island City. Quiet at EA Boise. Return was again busy at Island City with one charger that didn’t start, another that derated before getting full power on 3rd one. EA at Hermiston had 2 out of 4 out of service. Luckily we had chosen to stay at the adjacent hotel so waited for the holiday traffic to die down before charging to 100% in the evening.

We definitely need more chargers for these busy weekends and we definitely need those Tesla adapters sent out sooner rather than later Elon!

I think we did pass each other at the EA charger in Ellensburg. We definitely need more reliable fast chargers and those Tesla adapters. I just read that EA is piloting charge limits to 85% at some congested locations in CA.

Sponsored

 

[Dave Cundiff]

When we stopped at EA/Ellensburg in June, another user said there's usually a line on summer days.

Remember there are 2-3 other DCFCs in Ellensburg. Or keep going to the Tesla Superchargers in Quincy and/or Moses Lake (eastbound) or to various DCFC installations at Snoqualmie Pass or North Bend (westbound).

Best wishes!

 

[ciderarchitect]

There Is a Chargepoint charger just south of Whitefish, at the turn onto Hwy 40 towards Columbia Falls and West Glacier, that worked well for me last August. Was the closest L3 charger I could find near the park and helped with my camping weekend without too much stress. We took the shuttle once we were in the park so we didn’t have to fight for parking spaces.

 

[hgpayne]

There are two places to exclude Tesla chargers. The filter on the map screen only hides them from view, not the router. To have the router ignore adapter required superchargers navigate to anywhere -- one destination only, and before pressing GO press the settings button right next to the GO button. Scroll down a little and toggle the adapter needed switch to not use superchargers requiring an adapter. Remember to switch it back once you get your adapter.

The DCFC at the Taco Bell in Polson MT was critical for us getting to and out of Glacier with our Model X with camper in tow. It broke a few months later and was offline for well over a year but I'm happy to see it is back on line again for those venturing to the park. I think if we were towing with our R1T PDM we could have made it without that charge but it's still a nice option.

I'm glad there is at least once DCFC in Kalispell now. All national parks need DCFC near entrances if not inside the park itself. We've area great way to explore national parks with the Rivian being particularly good because of its off-road capabilities. Some national parks have 4x4 vehicle required roads.

We camped at Moose Creek Resort and RV park just outside the west entrance and was able to charge overnight each night in the campground. They are very EV friendly in that they had several campsites dedicated to EV car camping.

 

[PappaBolt]

There are two places to exclude Tesla chargers. The filter on the map screen only hides them from view, not the router. To have the router ignore adapter required superchargers navigate to anywhere -- one destination only, and before pressing GO press the settings button right next to the GO button. Scroll down a little and toggle the adapter needed switch to not use superchargers requiring an adapter. Remember to switch it back once you get your adapter.

The DCFC at the Taco Bell in Polson MT was critical for us getting to and out of Glacier with our Model X with camper in tow. It broke a few months later and was offline for well over a year but I'm happy to see it is back on line again for those venturing to the park. I think if we were towing with our R1T PDM we could have made it without that charge but it's still a nice option.

I'm glad there is at least once DCFC in Kalispell now. All national parks need DCFC near entrances if not inside the park itself. We've area great way to explore national parks with the Rivian being particularly good because of its off-road capabilities. Some national parks have 4x4 vehicle required roads.

We camped at Moose Creek Resort and RV park just outside the west entrance and was able to charge overnight each night in the campground. They are very EV friendly in that they had several campsites dedicated to EV car camping.

As stewards of our environmental treasures, I would like to see the National Park Service lead the way on charging infrastructure in the parks. On the other hand they are looking for ways to limit vehicle access and the resulting over crowding.

 

[Tuggles]

Great write up, thanks for sharing. I recently did Leavenworth to Lakeside (south of Kalispell) and it was definitely the worst charging experience I've had yet. I had to drive an hour+ out of my way to hit the chargers in the Ford dealership you mentioned in Kalispell, and coming back I was worried I wouldn't make it to the Walmart chargers in Smelterville. I was so concerned I was driving with no A/C (it was 87º out) and holding 62mph. Arrived with something like 8% charge, although the nav originally said I'd arrive with like 5 miles of range. A charger in St. Regis would have made that whole trip non-eventful (or, you know, a NACS adapter that was promised in March/April...). That trip scared me, definitely feeling a bit jaded!

 

[PappaBolt]

Great write up, thanks for sharing. I recently did Leavenworth to Lakeside (south of Kalispell) and it was definitely the worst charging experience I've had yet. I had to drive an hour+ out of my way to hit the chargers in the Ford dealership you mentioned in Kalispell, and coming back I was worried I wouldn't make it to the Walmart chargers in Smelterville. I was so concerned I was driving with no A/C (it was 87º out) and holding 62mph. Arrived with something like 8% charge, although the nav originally said I'd arrive with like 5 miles of range. A charger in St. Regis would have made that whole trip non-eventful (or, you know, a NACS adapter that was promised in March/April...). That trip scared me, definitely feeling a bit jaded!

Staying at Lakeside sounds more problematic. I didn’t see any public chargers when going through. That Ford charger is great but too far. I assume the place you were staying didn’t have a charging option.

Sponsored