| Rancho Cucamonga Supercharger
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Our goal this day is simply to cross the Mojave desert so we can enter "Indian Country".
My son completed his last day of Science Camp at CSU Long Beach at noon on Friday.
We therefore could leave only after the family ate lunch in that area.
By 1 pm we were on our way.
But just as we were approaching Victoria Gardens, my son says he has to pee.
It so happens we found Superchargers there.
| Time | Event | Range Remaining |
|---|
| 12:54 pm | Departed Long Beach | 233 |
| 2:00 pm | Arrive Rancho Cucamonga Supercharger | 161 |
Range/Distance ratio: 1.26
Conditions: Traffic, 90°F
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Nevertheless the car collected energy during this unexpected stop.
After this bathroom break we were on our way again.
Cost to Charge: $0
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| Barstow Supercharger
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| Time | Event | Range Remaining |
|---|
| 2:16 pm | Departed Rancho Cucamonga | 202 |
| 3:19 pm | Arrived Barstow Supercharger | 121 |
Range/Distance ratio: 1.25
Conditions: Uphill, 105°F
As our first planned stop, I plugged in the car and
took the children to the local Chili's for a bathroom break.
Then I ordered two chocolate milks to-go to help refresh the kids.
Knowing that the next leg was two hours of driving, I wanted to be sure
to take the time for them to be ready.
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During the time it took to get the children comfortable and ready for the next leg of travel,
the car charged at the Supercharger.
Cost to Charge: $0
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| Needles Supercharger
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| Time | Event | Range Remaining |
|---|
| 3:44 pm | Departed Barstow | 199 |
| 5:54 pm | Arrived Needles Supercharger | 30 |
Range/Distance ratio: 1.14
Conditions: Some drafting, 110°F
Shortly after leaving Barstow, we departed I-15 and began on I-40, a freeway
I had not been on since I was a child, to cross the Mojave desert.
The drive took us through desert heat, and I took advantage of a few
aggressive truck drivers to draft so I could save energy
despite driving fast.
One way or another I knew I could make it to the Needles Supercharger, it
was only a question of when.
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Once we arrived and plugged in, the kids chose a nearby Carl's Jr for dinner.
Mine was the only Tesla in the area, a common trucker's stop.
Cost to Charge: $0
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| Kingman, Arizona
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| Time | Event | Range Remaining |
|---|
| 6:52 pm | Departed Needles | 202 |
| 7:47 pm | Arrived Kingman, Arizona | 99 |
Range/Distance ratio: 1.63
Conditions: Uphill, 110°F
This was a short but uphill leg, gaining elevation from 514 feet to 3363 feet,
but also the one where we cross into Arizona (see top), the first time for my children.
Despite a transition into sunset, it was still quite hot outside.
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Arriving in Kingman with plenty of range, we first checked into the closest hotel to the
Supercharger, the West Kingman Motel 6.
I settled the kids in the room, letting them view
the movie Cars,
which drew inspiration Route 66
and many of our upcoming destinations.
I then moved the car to the Supercharger (also near a Carl's Jr).
Considering that mine was the only Tesla around,
I had little compunction to use it like a Destination charger, charging overnight
while we slept.
Cost to Charge: $0
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Dean E. Dauger holds a Ph. D. in physics from UCLA, where his group
created the first Mac cluster in 1998. Dr. Dauger is the award-winning
author in multiple American Institute of Physics' Software Contests and
co-authored the original, award-winning Kai's Power Tools
image-processing package for Adobe Photoshop.
After founding his company,
Dauger Research, Inc., its debut product,
Pooch, derived from Dr. Dauger's experience using clusters for his
physics research, was soon awarded as "most innovative" by IEEE Cluster
and continues to revolutionize parallel computing and clusters worldwide
with its patented technology.
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