Springhill Suites provided a breakfast in their lobby, which we came down to enjoy. Soon after we were ready to go, so we packed up and headed out. Time Event Range Remaining 9:14 am Departed Springhill 325 9:23 am Arrived McEuen Park 322 But this time we didn't need to go far, just to McEuen Park in Coeur d'Alene. I researched in advance what places we might be able to go, and most of the sightseeing centered around Lake Coeur d'Alene. I wanted to find a place where we could see this lake, and the natural easy spot was to hike Tubbs Hill, accessible from McEuen Park. We found McEuen Park to be very pretty and very clean (including the bathrooms), and included well-designed and well-maintained playgrounds and other amenities.

With a trail map I found online, I guided the family on a quick route to the top of the hill, and then continued on to the other side of the hill to take a clockwise route around it. That gave us some great views of the lake. We could see kayakers and boaters underway enjoying the large waterways here, and Tubbs Hill had a few hikers and runners, but certainly not crowded.

I've been using the tripod I bought two years ago to take pictures of ourselves on this trip. In fact, I bought one of these tripods during the road trip two years ago because the last one broke during our hike to Animas River Overlook near Durango. So it was ironic that, partway on this trip, I broke not one but two tripods while taking pictures here on Tubbs Hill. The wind blew the bigger one over and fell five feet onto a rock, breaking the head and the iPhone clamp into many little unrepairable pieces. When I scrambled to use the little bendable tripod, that head broke too. Ack!

So I did what I did two years ago: I went online to Amazon and ordered new tripods to be shipped just in time to the hotel I reserved for two days later. This time that hotel isn't far from Amazon headquarters so I could be pretty sure it would arrive on time. I ordered it after the hike from McEuen park while waiting for my wife and daughter to finish shopping near the Coeur d'Alene Resort.

We were ready to head to lunch, but again the next stop wasn't too far. Time Event Range Remaining 11:30 am Departed Coeur d'Alene 318 12:14 pm Arrived Spokane Supercharger 265 Range/Distance ratio: 1.23 Conditions: 84°F Spokane is "The City" in these parts, so we crossed the border into Washington state and found the Supercharger there near the airport. I researched in advance that the place had a Subway, a Starbucks, and a McDonald's a little further away. The children picked the Subway for lunch, so we bought sandwiches and ate outside. It wasn't long before the car was completely full. While my wife and children bought some treats at Starbucks, I walked back to the car to unplug it and meet them across the parking lot at the Starbucks. Soon we were on our way.

But typical here is boring to me. In fact I remember when I was eleven on our road trip that the drive on the Interstate through eastern Washington was particularly boring. To make this one trip more interesting I wanted to bring the family to North Cascades National Park. It turns out there is one place to stay with Tesla charging just outside the east entrance to North Cascades, so that was our goal.

The route explored rural areas and farmland of eastern Washington so it was without any additional Superchargers, but that's okay. We have plenty of range to get to the hotel. Late in the planning I discovered things in particular to see along this route.

Time	Event	Range Remaining
12:58 pm	Unplugged Spokane Supercharger	324
1:05 pm	Departed Spokane	322
2:40 pm	Arrived Grand Coulee Dam	233

Range/Distance ratio: 1.06
Conditions: One-lane roads weaving between farmland

I have heard of Grand Coulee Dam, but of course I have never been there until this day. It's not the first time we visited a major regional dam. In normal times laser light shows are shown here. I researched in advance to know that the Visitors Center is completely closed; even the bathrooms are unavailable on a Monday. So we took our pictures and left. We couldn't even a McDonald's on the route for a bathroom break, so Bathroom Anxiety was becoming a real issue.

So we continued northwest along the rural roads. We saw various sites, but then came across another dam by accident.

Time Event Range Remaining 2:53 pm Departed Grand Coulee Dam 232 3:35 pm Arrived Chief Joseph Dam 190 Range/Distance ratio: 1.08 Conditions: One-lane roads, 96°F Washington is known for its rivers, but it is also known for its hydroelectric power. That makes Washington's electrical grid very "green", i.e., it burns relatively little carbon, so Washington's electrical grid has less impact on the environment. The electricity generated at these dams is proof of how electricity can be made sustainably.

At this viewpoint over Chief Joseph Dam, we did find a pit toilet, not unlike ones we might find along a hike. My wife and daughter used the toilet here, because they must. This was also when they used the toilet paper I brought at the beginning of the trip that my wife questioned whether we would need. Meanwhile I took a few more pictures. I felt the need for the bathroom too, but I decided I can hold it.

Shortly after we entered the Cascade Loop Scenic Driving Tour at Pateros.

Time Event Range Remaining 3:39 pm Departed Chief Joseph Dam 189 4:59 pm Arrived Sun Mountain Lodge 95 Range/Distance ratio: 1.4 Conditions: Uphill, winding roads We made it to Sun Mountain Lodge with plenty of range to spare. I knew in advance that the cabin I reserved does not have WiFi; that's at the Lodge. We checked in at the Lodge, but the fellow told us the procedures around dispensing meals here are rather stringent due to the pandemic. Dine-in reservations must be made well in advance, and we arrived too late for that, so take-out was necessary. What I also did not know was the cabin I booked was two miles away from the main lodge. That was not clear to me from the web site. So when we went down to the cabin near Patterson Lake we had to use the one phone shared available at the office to call in our orders and set a reservation for picking up the meal. This larger place was not really set up well for a pandemic. I brought the family down to the cabin, we unloaded quickly, in order to decide on our dinners. Quickly we ordered. At the appointed time I drove back up to the Lodge to pick up our dinner, and I drove back down to feed my family and eat with them. We also had to put in our breakfast order and schedule pick up of breakfast for the next morning, within a limited window tonight. I decided to bring my laptop up with me. I found the Tesla native charger, which works perfectly, and plug in, then I walked to the Lodge to place our breakfast order. That took a while because the restaurant staff are completely overwhelmed, taking orders, delivering orders, fixing orders that were executed incorrectly. Really it was the pandemic that made these food arrangements so inconvenient.

When I completed that I took some pictures from the area, which is really quite beautiful, then settled down in at a bench outside to watch the sunset while checking a few things online with my laptop and uploading pictures from my iPhone. I added at least 50 miles of additional range up using the Lodge's Tesla-native charger.

Interleaved with the food ordering, I was disappointed to find out that the Tesla-native charger is only at the Lodge, which is two miles away from where we are staying. John at the front desk and Alex down at the Patterson Lake cabins were both very helpful and gave me permission to use the laundry room in the cabin area for charging. I discovered that the electrical plug for the washer was close enough to the door that my charging cable could just barely reach my plug if I park in just right in an awkward place. Cost to Charge: $0 I kick myself a little for not bringing my 50-foot high-voltage extension chord, sitting in my garage at home, which I used on my very first all-electric road trip seven years ago to charge from a dryer plug at grandma's house. I had not brought it this time because in the 10,000 miles of intervening road trips I never used it again.

Most importantly I did happen to have with me the right adapter for this laundry outlet: a NEMA 10-30. I had the forethought, back in February of 2019, to order this 10-30 adapter for my new Model S. I did get this to work, and I did not have to hike two miles to get my car. I thanked John and Alex of Sun Mountain Lodge for granting me permission to use the laundry room all night this way. At least this made up for, in a pragmatic way, the lack of a Tesla-native plug down here even though they're a member of the Tesla Destination Network. I put a note on my dash for other guests to state I have permission from Sun Mountain Lodge to do this, in the hopes that they do not unplug me overnight. The next morning, just before picking up breakfast for my family, I told the front desk staff kudos to John and Alex for allowing me to plug in to the laundry room because everything worked and I had lots of charge, but I advised them they should get Tesla to install more Tesla-native plugs down at the Lake or do the quick fix of installing NEMA 14-50 outlets, just like I have at home, at some of the structures down at the lake.

Nonetheless the location was idyllic, beautiful, and well-kept. While I amwas working to get my family food and charge my car, my wife and children ran on the lush grass, darting between the thriving trees, relaxing, and otherwise enjoying the view and the clean air. There were only a handful of cabins at the lake, and everyone here was just enjoying taking in the outdoor beauty, which was what we came here to see.

In fact we were so much out here with Nature that deer and rabins come up to the cabins and the lodge, not minding us humans one bit, allowing us to take pictures. The cabin was quite spacious, and we generally enjoyed our limited time here.