Electric Route 66

The time for National Drive Electric Week is upon us once again! We at Electric Route 66 will be attending two events - one on Route 66 and one near our home in Las Vegas. There are nearly 200 NDEW events happening across the US and Canada this year between September 23 and October 1, where you can take a look at current electric vehicles showcased by their owners, and at some events take test drives! Please visit the National Drive Electric Week web site to look for an event near you, and register to attend! It's fun and informative to learn about driving electric from actual EV owners relating their real-world experiences. Below is a brief list of the Drive Electric Week events that are happening close to Route 66, plus the additional non-Route 66 event we're attending. Albuquerque, New Mexico In concert with the American Lung Association car show and charity walk Hoffmantown Church, 8888 Harper Road Saturday, September 23 Tulsa, Oklahoma This event includes a new car ride ...

It's been pretty quiet here at Electric Route 66, but coming up soon are two (count 'em!) events that will likely be just the beginning of a very busy road-tripping season. If you are in the vicinity of Kingman, Arizona, we'd love to see there!     Drive Electric Earth Day On April 29, Kingman will be hosting their second Drive Electric Earth Day event at the Powerhouse Visitor Center. Hosted by the Historic Electric Vehicle Foundation , EV owners will bring their cars for display, and to answer questions from the public about owning and driving electric. It looks like it will be a small gathering this year, but the Powerhouse is a busy place: in addition to the Arizona Route 66 Museum, visitor information and gift shops, the Route 66 EV Museum will be open to all for free.   The Powerhouse Visitor Center is Kingman's biggest Route 66 attraction. Last year's Drive Electric Earth Day in Kingman had a great turnout for a first event. If you have a plug-in vehicle and ...

It's been quite some time since I've written a trip report, but I thought this would be a good subject to get back into it. In January, we took a weekend trip in The Blue Spirit to the Electric Vehicle Association annual meeting in Carlsbad, California. This was the first EVA annual meeting we have attended, and we had a wonderful time which I'd love to tell you about. Day 1: Las Vegas, NV to Cardiff, CA The majority of our first day was spent in travel mode - lots of freeway driving and very little sightseeing. The I-15 travel corridor has a lot of traffic with numerous EV chargers along the way. We fully charged The Blue Spirit at home, and made good time to the Barstow area. We often stop for our first break and charge at Eddie World in Yermo, a great stop with Tesla Superchargers, ChargePoint fast and slow chargers, gas, restrooms, massive candy & snack selection, and several hot food options. This time, we decided to drive a little further before stopping to char...

To celebrate the upcoming Drive Electric Week , I have uploaded a super short special edition of Electric Route 66 Dashcam. This one is just 30 seconds and features the Musical Highway in New Mexico! But first, I need to tell you about National Drive Electric Week. This nationwide effort by the Electric Vehicle Association , Plug In America , the Sierra Club , and EV Hybrid Noire spans two weekends and the weekdays in between, and includes hundreds of events where attendees can learn about EVs from actual owners, and see many models of EVs in person. Below is a listing of Drive Electric Week events that will be happening on or near Route 66! We will be attending two events in person: in Las Vegas, NV we will have both of our EVs, The Blue Spirit and Sparky Sparky Boom Car; and we'll be in Kingman, AZ in The Blue Spirit. Stop by and say hello! Wilmette, Illinois: St. John's Lutheran Church, 1235 Wilmette Avenue Saturday, September 24   Aurora, Illinois: Fox Valley Mall, 195 Fox...

 Just a short post this time about a couple of upcoming events on Route 66 in Arizona. Firstly, This coming Saturday, April 23 is the date for Kingman's first-ever Drive Electric Earth Day event. It's being held at the Kingman Powerhouse Visitor Center. Drive Electric Earth Day is a nationwide series of events held each April around Earth Day (April 22), by the same folks who organize Drive Electric Week events each September. This Historic Electric Vehicle Foundation is the primary host of the Kingman event, and as such will include free admission to their Route 66 EV Museum inside the Powerhouse for everyone who attends! It's a great chance to see some very rare vehicles inside the museum, as well as a showcase of modern EVs outside, where owners will be showing off their cars and answering questions from the public. We will be there with The Blue Spirit. If you have an EV you'd like to show (plug-in hybrids included!), please register here. It's free for both r...

Fall is nearly upon us, and that means National Drive Electric Week is coming once again! Events were largely cancelled in 2020 due to covid, but this year many of them are back. Dozens of events are spread all over the country from September 25 to October 3, where EV owners can show off their cars (and motorcycles) to anyone who is interested in electric vehicles. New car dealers are also sometimes in attendance with the latest EV models. Depending on the event, you can find information booths and literature, and always plenty of EV owners willing to share their experiences and answer your questions. Best of all, these events are totally free! For a full listing of events all across the country, and to register to attend for a chance to win a $250 Visa gift card, visit DriveElectricWeek.org. Here on Electric Route 66 I will give you a rundown of the National Drive Electric Week events that are being held on or near Route 66.   Drive Electric Week, Las Vegas 2019     Aur...

National Drive Electric Week is September 26 to October 4, and there is finally a little bit of activity after a tough summer! The ongoing pandemic has kept us and The Blue Spirit close to home for most of the summer. I have another short Utah trip to post about; that will come a little later. Right now I want to let you know about some upcoming events, where you can meet up with us in person (at a safe distance!) or learn more about EVs. National Drive Electric Week in-person events have been severely curtailed this year as could be expected, but there are a couple of events on or near Route 66. There are online events as well, some with local information such as incentives by local and state governments. Please visit the NDEW web site to find out about online presentations in your area. September 26: Kingman, Arizona The Powerhouse in Kingman The Route 66 Electric Vehicle Association was founded recently by "EV Jerry" Asher and Jim Stack, as a brand new chapter of the Ele...

Coming up on November 16, the iconic Roy's Motel & Cafe sign in Amboy, California will be returned to service! Roy's is one of the most famous historic stops on Route 66, in large part because of its very large Googie-style neon sign, erected in 1959. This sign has been turned off since the 1980s and its restoration has been a long term project that is finally coming to fruition. See the official flyer below, from the town's web site visitamboy.com . Food, music, raffle, fly-in and relighting! Amboy is the place to be on November 16! Since we live in Las Vegas, Amboy is pretty close to us and we've been there numerous times, including last month when we visited during the Road Runner's Retreat cleanup weekend. There is no EV charging available at Amboy, but the manager was very interested in pursuing the possibility as they restore more of the town. As an aged, remote, near-ghost town, Amboy has challenges with infrastructure such as power supply and f...

Sorry about the lack of posts lately; it's been a busy few weeks that hasn't left much time for writing! But The Blue Spirit will be out on Route 66 this weekend, as we participate in a cleanup at the Road Runner's Retreat, a restaurant/truck stop that needs some loving care. The iconic sign of the Road Runner's Retreat Located about 10 miles east of Amboy, California on Route 66, the Road Runner's Retreat has been closed for decades. It was once a popular stop for gas and food along 66, but after I-40 bypassed this section of Route 66, the flow of passing travelers dried up and the business eventually closed. In the years since, the owning family has tried to keep up the property with periodic cleanup visits. Recently, the call has gone out for volunteers to come help. Last year's cleanup was one of the earliest weekend adventures of The Blue Spirit into an area that was devoid of major charging infrastructure. We are happy to help support Route 66 ...

National Drive Electric Week is coming up soon on September 14-22. Now in its ninth year, there are a whopping 275 NDEW events slated to take place, primarily in the U.S. and Canada. These events are a chance for EV owners to show off their own cars and inform the public about their real-world experiences living with EVs. Some events feature EVs from new car dealers as well. Both 100% electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid vehicles are shown. Many events will feature information booths or other resources relating to EVs, and all of the events are FREE. Learn more about NDEW at the official web site, DriveElectricWeek.org. Last Year's NDEW event in Las Vegas Here is a brief rundown of the NDEW events happening on or near Route 66 this year, plus the Las Vegas, Nevada event that we will be attending. I hope that you will be able to attend an event, whether you own an EV and want to participate, are interested in learning about EVs, or just want to check out some cool cars! Ch...