Electric Route 66

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...

Just a quick post today, about a couple of new chargers. One is on Route 66 and the other is not, but both are worth knowing about. Kingman, Arizona Years in the making, the Powerhouse Visitor Center finally has an EV charger! Given its name, and the fact that the Powerhouse is home to the Historic Electric Vehicle Museum , it's only fitting that EV charging be available at this historic building, which provided power for Kingman and vicinity from 1909 to 1938. The city of Kingman had been in a holding pattern for years on installing a charger here. One of the possibilities they were exploring was a commercial ChargePoint installation, but the time frame was going to be long and the cost significant. Back in May I met Josh Noble from the City of Kingman at the Powerhouse. He told me that the city was in possession of a donated charger and we went to take a look. It was determined that this unit would be suitable to put into service, and before long an electrician came out to ...

An unusual situation presented itself to us in June. We needed to travel a long distance in a very short amount of time, to attend a high school graduation hundreds of miles away from home. There wasn't much sightseeing on this trip, and it didn't take place on Route 66, but I thought it deserved a report anyway. It is a type of trip that is often brought up in arguments against EVs, and the ease with which it was done is a good illustration that electric vehicles really are ready for the mainstream. We have made the trip from Las Vegas, Nevada to Crescent City, California many times in the last 25 years. Usually, we travel down into California on I-15, west on CA-58, and then north along mostly I-5 and US 101. This route is about 1,000 miles and we do it in two days. The 'short way' from Vegas to Crescent City is north through Nevada on US 95 towards Reno, then northwest through Susanville to I-5, up into Oregon and then down US 199 back into California. It's ab...

A Trading Post Outing On Memorial Day weekend we had an opportunity to help out the Route 66 Co-Op, a non-profit group that recently purchased the Painted Desert Trading Post . This long-closed trading post is considered to be a sort of 'holy grail' of Route 66 destinations. It is located along an abandoned segment of Route 66 east of Petrified Forest National Park in Arizona. In the 1950s, the business closed for good after the highway was rerouted onto a new alignment. Its isolation kept it relatively safe and intact for some 60 years. It has been virtually inaccessible on private land, unless you knew the right people to ask for access, or were willing to trespass and hoof it several miles down abandoned 66. The Painted Desert Trading Post in 2014. In recent years, the land surrounding the PDTP has been used for cattle grazing, leading to increased damage as cattle could walk around inside the building, bump into walls, etc. Without action, it would not survive fo...

The Arizona Route 66 Fun Run is the biggest yearly Route 66 event in Arizona. The 32nd annual fun run took place May 3-5, and stretched from Seligman in the east to Topock/Golden Shores in the west. We were traveling 66 in The Blue Spirit on all 3 days. Here are some highlights from our EV-driving perspective. Since this was our first year participating in the whole 3 days of the event, we were a little inexperienced on how best to spend our time, so there was quite a bit that we missed! Many of our friends were there and so we spent some time catching up with them rather than covering all the possible activities that were available. The Route 66 Association of Arizona lines up a whole lot of things to do for their showcase event, so you should head over to their site for a full accounting of what goes on, along with a lot of great photos. Friday: Heading to Seligman After leaving home in Las Vegas, our first stop on Friday was the Kingman Tesla supercharger. The charging infra...