Here comes the sun...

August 21, 2017

All the news reports emphasized the life-changing impact of personally viewing a total solar eclipse.  Could it be as life-changing as driving a Tesla?  We will find out.

I mentioned to my significant other that it was time for another Tesla Trip in our Model S.  How about a trip to southern Illinois to view a once-in-a-lifetime total eclipse of the sun?  Planning and preparations were made, including buying the certified eclipse viewing glasses.  Reports were that hotels in the path of totality were now very hard to find.  We thought that we could make the trip in one day, since the main event occurred at 1:18 PM, CDT.  I tested out the camera filter and looked at the route, including SuperCharger locations and times.  The navigation system indicated a 344 mile one-way drive with two charging stops to get to Chester Illinois, leaving the battery at 15%.  I chose Chester Illinois because it was on the center of the path of totality and removed from large cities.  Seemed reasonable to me.



5:00 AM (needed to start early in case traffic slowed down the trip) - Off we go!

Pulled out of the drive and headed to the corner stop sign.  Wow!, there was no regenerative brakes.  Was something wrong?  I looked down at the dash and saw the hashed markings on the power consumption gauge.  This usually shows up when you have a cold start - the battery needs to be at an appropriate temperature to allow regenerative energy to be dumped back into it.  But the outside temperature was 68 deg. F.  About 1 mile down the road, the dashed marking disappeared and regenerative braking was back to normal.  Even the relatively mild in-garage temps were low enough to initiate the battery protection system.  What a car!

The roads were relatively light.  The sun had not risen yet and we were hoping that the sky would be clear in down-state Illinois. We checked the weather application on the phone (I am not aware of a Tesla weather application that could be called up?).  Still looks good.  Put on the Auto-Pilot and drive on.

First stop is in Normal, Illinois for a recharge and breakfast.  The navigation system shows that it is located downtown.  Looks like it is in the Hyatt parking ramp near the campus.  Up we go to the first level, but all we see are conventional electric car recharging "pumps".  I could use this, but where is the SuperCharger?  A more careful look at the note on the navigation system indicates that it is on the third level.  There it is.  All chargers are open for use.  Plug in and find a restaurant.  A recommendation at the hotel desk points us to Merry Anne's Diner, about two blocks away.  About 45 minutes and we are back to the SuperCharger.  Now another Tesla is charging.  Off we go again.

The Navigation system indicates that we should top up the battery in Springfield.  A 15 minute charge should get us to Chester, Illinois with a reasonable level of battery to make it to a charger for the return trip.  We are making good time on the road so we take up on the recommendation.

Springfield, Illinois SuperCharger

The SuperCharger in Springfield is on the south side of the town, easily accessed from the major road we were taking.

 Surprisingly, it is located at the edge of a big box sporting goods parking lot.  I had never heard of Scheels before so it was a new experience.  We plugged in and walked to the store.  Scheels is a very large store dedicated to the sporting life - fishing, hunting, hiking, etc..

Scheels Ferris Wheel

As part of the entertainment there is located in the store a 3 story Ferris Wheel.  So obviously we needed a ride during the charge wait.  They also have a small food area and of course restroom facilities.  Great to walk around the store as well.

The charge time was minimal.  Off we go again.  Check the weather.  The sky looks good in the south but very cloudy in the west and northwest.  Maybe we will be lucky.

We began to start seeing digital signs on the road warning of expected heavy traffic in the area where we were heading.  Could this be a foreboding?

As we moved south on highway 159, we could see traffic congestion picking up.  We were now on a two lane highway, passing through some small towns with stop lights, so progress was slowing.  The eclipse (partial) actually starts at 11:45 AM and we were about 20 miles from our planned destination at 11:20 AM.  Time to reconsider options.  Since we were already in the path of totality, we could find a place to stop, park and set up our viewing activity.  A park in the small town of Red Bud looked perfect.  Right now we were crawling at about 5 miles per hour.

11:35 AM - A quick turn off the main road on to the parallel side street led us to the park entrance, Ratz Memorial City Park.  Already about 100 people were there.  But there was still parking and many open areas to set up.


We found a place under a shade tree, but close to open sun.  And would you believe it that we had a beautiful clear sky - only minor fluffy clouds.

Now comes the waiting game.  A total eclipse of the sun is a remarkable event.  The last one that passed through the Midwest U.S. was 99 years ago.  We had both seen partial eclipses, but a total eclipse is something that many people travel for many miles to see.

Was it worth it? Clearly.  The temperatures in Red Bud at noon were approaching 95 degrees F.  But we were happily putting on our eclipse glasses and taking peeks at the sun which was becoming obliterated by the moon.  A few pictures of the eclipse progress are below.

Photograph through the filter at about 12:20 PM.  Coloration is due to the filter.













Photograph taken at about 12:58 PM

Photograph taken at about 1:18 PM.  Full totality.

Photograph taken at about 1:20 PM.  The moon is has just passed out of full totality.  This is the gold diamond image on the exit side of the moons movement.






The temperature must have dropped about 15 degrees during full totality.  It was hard to determine whether the birds and bugs changed their sounds.  The fellow viewers certainly verbalized.  The oohs and aahs were abundant and applause burst out after full totality.  A clearly moving event.

We stayed around for another 40-50 minutes before breaking down the setup.  Then we realized the challenges that were before us.

3:00 PM - Turning on the navigation system, we had enough power to get to essentially one SuperCharger with some level of confidence.  We could have easily gone to a "destination" charger but these normally require payment and are slower to charge.  So we decided to navigate to the St. Charles, Missouri SuperCharger,  with an expected 7% battery remaining when we arrived there.  We were advised to keep the speed below 55 mph.  Little did we know that this was irrelevant since traffic would prohibit anything faster than this.

St. Charles, Missouri SuperCharger

We arrived at the St. Charles SuperCharger with 9% battery - well done!  But to our surprise so did an abundance of other Teslas who also need recharging.  We all came down to the eclipse path of totality area at different times and different days.  But we all wished to leave at the same time.  A smart move would have been to have a full charge on the vehicle before finding our photo taking location.  Hind sight is 20-20.

The charging area has five charging stations.  Normally a reasonable number.  Directly opposite this is a Smash Burger restaurant - nice and greasy burgers and fries.

We saw the five stations with Teslas charging, and then we saw the additional 8 Teslas which were patiently waiting.  We moved into our position in line.

St. Charles SuperCharger back-up

A one hour wait moved us finally into a charging station.  We hooked up and ate a leisurely lunch/dinner.  We wanted to charge enough to make it to the next SuperCharger without needlessly overfilling, given the line behind us.

5:00 PM - Charging complete, we were on our way back to Springfield, Illinois.  The navigation system in the Tesla noted some severe traffic congestion, so it rerouted us through the back roads North of St Louis, Missouri.  This was entertaining, but a little slow, and it was becoming a long day now.

8:20 PM - Arrived at the Springfield SuperCharger at the Scheels parking.  We were familiar with this one, as we had been there earlier in the day.  Not surprisingly, we also saw some familiar Teslas at this location - some of the same cars we saw at St. Charles.  Plug in immediately and charge!

I saw weather forecasts for the area between our present location and home, and it looked like rain and lightening.  The sooner we could move onward the better.  We checked the navigation system multiple times and it repeatedly noted that we would have to do still another minimal charge before home.  So we accepted the computer's analysis and started again after a 40 minute charge.  The target top up charge station was in Bollingbrook, Illinois, about 25 miles from home.

The navigation system again redirected us somewhat from a direct route, due to very heavy traffic.  Another case of everyone leaving at the same time for their return drive home.  We moved forward.

Then the rains came down.  A deluge of rain and lightening.  Speed dropping to 40 mph.  Very cautious driving necessary.  The autopilot here is still a great alternative, assuming the system and ourselves can see the lines on the road.  We persevered with some wonderful driving by Beverly!

We arrived at the Bollingbrook SuperCharger at 12:30.  Just a 15 minute charge was required.  Many open spaces at this charger at this time of the morning.

Charging complete, we were on our way again.

We made it home around 1:30 AM.  Safe and sound.  A total of 726 miles.  We experienced a once-in-a-life-time total eclipse of the sun.  The sky in Red Bud was clear and brilliant.

The next total solar eclipse for the Midwest is in April of 2024.  This is something for which we will certainly plan.

We also will have some better understanding of how to plan the trip.  It will certainly be in the Tesla (maybe a newer model by then)!

Safe driving!

Driving North to the Birds...

We heard a wonderful interview on WBEZ's Worldview program with Jerome McDonald recently.  Jerome interviewed George Archibald, one of the co-founders of the International Crane Foundation.  Only 170 miles north of us (2 hours, 40 minutes) is the foundation's home near Baraboo, Wisconsin.  What a perfect trip for a Tesla.  Check out the podcast at www.wbez.org/shows/worldview-podcast/4fe38399-fbff-4160-a304-57ae27213a8c.

The trip started on Saturday morning with Beverly taking the wheel. She usually lets me do the driving, but this was a perfect chance to feel the benefits of owning a Tesla Model S.  After a few minutes of remembering the practice of Tesla driving, she moved forward like a pro.  Traffic was light, surprisingly on a beautiful summer weekend.  We took the direct path on the multi-lane tollway (Highway 90) until our navigation system redirected us on a more country path north of Madison, Wisconsin.  This was a good thing.

Merrimac Ferry, Wisconsin

We saw the new path and recalled our earlier days living in the Madison area.  There was a ferry that we had taken a few times about 40 years ago.  The Merrimac Ferry had moved cars and people over a short stretch of Lake Wisconsin.  Certainly after this many years, a bridge would have been built.  But to our happy surprise, the ferry still ran.  We just missed the loading as we pulled up to the dock, so we waited until it moved a group of customers across and returned with another group to our side of the lake.

Load up and make the short ten minute trip!

Shortly after the offloading we drove through Baraboo, WIsconsin.  This is the home of a wonderful circus museum.  Used to be a home of the Ringling Brothers Circus many years ago.  It is still running, but we did not stop.

Next stop is the International Crane Foundation, E11376 Shady Lane Road, PO Box 447, Baraboo, WI, 53913.  (www.savingcranes.org/)


The grounds were great and the people there very cordial.  By coincidence, we actually briefly met the founder, George Archibald who was touring some friend guests.  This is one of the only places on earth where you can see all 15 varieties of cranes.  They are contained in fenced areas, with some viewing areas providing great photo opportunities.  There are very few natural crane habitats today.
Here are a few pictures taken during the walking tour of the habitat.

Grey Crowned Crane, African

Blue Crane, African

Baby Sarus Crane

Black-necked Crane

Whooping Crane

Membership in the International Crane Foundation gives you entry to the exhibit, as well as entry to many other exhibits.  It is a worthy contribution to saving the crane populations of the world.

Since we missed lunch, we began to look for a place to get some food and drink. Thanks to the internet, we discovered the Driftless Glen Distillery in Baraboo.  A welcome lunch and a tour of the distillery with samplings followed.  But not enough to encumber our driving capabilities.

We did have enough battery to make the Madison Super Charger late in the afternoon.  We found one other Tesla charging up.  Plugged in, we enjoyed about 40 minutes of recharge. Strangely, as we sat charging, our Illinois plated Tesla met Teslas from Wisconsin, Massachusettes, Minnnesota, and Michigan.

343 miles after we left our home, we returned.  Happy to make the visit to the Crane habitat, join the foundation, lunch and taste the distillery, and enjoy our Model S.  Safe and sound!  Nikola does need a bath though - a few bugs came home with us.

Stretching the Envelope

Trip 4 - Milwaukee Area, Wisconsin

We planned a day trip to the Milwaukee area to see relatives and conduct genealogy investigations.  An enjoyable day of visits, with lunch and dinner at new venues.  The day before departure, I raised the charge level to maximum on the Tesla Model S, which meant that the morning's distance available was 258 miles.  The normal round trip distance to Milwaukee from our home is about 160 miles, and adding another 40 miscellaneous miles would satisfy the trip plan.  I thought that a routine stop at the Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin Tesla SuperCharger on the return would be necessary.  The Trip Mode was set on the Tesla which also reduced excessive energy consumption.

The temperature at departure was 12 degrees F.  We had learned that the Tesla S mileage suffers with the drop in temperature (regenerative braking is also somewhat reduced with lower outside temps).  We started out the trip early, after warming the car briefly while it was plugged in to our home charger, inside our garage,  A nice, toasty start.

Tesla Model S performed flawlessly.  I auto-piloted almost 80% of the distance to Milwaukee.  A great chance to listen to a podcast called "The Axe Files" by David Axelrod.  It was a December 26, 2016 interview with President Obabma.

We arrived with time to take some pictures of a home that was occupied by a maternal grandmother in 1940.  The house and neighborhood still looked good.  Off to our next stop - a recently opened antique shop owned by a cousin.  I did notice that the cold temperatures were dropping the miles available at a faster rate than expected, but thought all would be fine.

After a few curious purchases, wonderful conversations and Tonkatsu Ramen at a local restaurant, we headed out to visit more relatives living in Waukesha, about 20 miles distant.  After this stop, we back-tracked to a cemetery for a photo stop, and then continued on to our dinner meeting.  I noted that the miles available were dropping rapidly.  Temperature was 10 degrees F.  We got to the restaurant with the miles available showing 57 miles.  I knew we were no more than 35 miles to the SuperCharger, so thought we'd be good.  Dinner thoughts, though tended to focus on that drive to the SuperCharger - this is a classic case of energy anxiety...

After a great dinner with relatives, we set off on the return trip home.  After setting the navigation to home, the Tesla (obviously) said we needed to stop at the Pleasant Prairie SuperCharger.  It also said that I needed to keep the speed to 60 mph to make it there.  This seemed fine, although this is not my normal highway speed.  Off we went.

About 5 minutes into the drive, the navigation system updated its recommendations on the speed to 55 mph.  I knew this was going to be interesting.  With agreement from my travel partner, we started to shut down unnecessary consumption of energy.  This meant shutting off the heat and lowering the display brightness to minimum.  Temperature outside was dropping, now 9 degrees F.

It's annoying driving behind someone going slower than the speed limit.  I apologize to all who had chance to tail me going 55 in a 70 mph multi-lane freeway, but they were all able to pass me easily.  There are a lot of semi-tractor trailers driving on this highway in the evening, all zipping past me at 70 mph or faster.

Miles to "empty" kept on dropping.  The display dropped to a yellow bar showing miles.  No distance marker to Pleasant Prairie, though, so a comparison of capability was difficult. The miles available bar turned red.  Two miles from the exit, the navigation system voice announced the exit that I needed to take.  Miles to empty was 10.  It was cold in the car, but not unbearable.

Display upon reaching SuperCharger

We parked in the Supercharger spot with 6 miles available.  Plugged into the charger and turned on the heated seats and heater.  40 minutes to charge before we would have enough to make it home, still another 46 miles.  Time for another Axe File podcast, this time with Doris Kearns Goodwin, before heading home.  The charge display image of the car's battery progressed from red to yellow to green!

I estimated that our true "miles available" was about 64% of the displayed miles at our low outside temperatures.  Obviously, we were using heaters and car seat warmers as well, which affected miles available.  But future planning for winter long trips will be much more cautious.

It would be nice to have a Tesla SuperCharger in Milwaukee, too...

Pleasant Prairie, WI SuperCharger