July 17 (4) Start Day - The 2nd Charge, Cajon Pass
There is no electric car charger in the parking lot of the Upton Walmart. I ask in the store where it is and they say to look in Automotive for car chargers. I clarify and they say, "We don't have one of those." Bummer.
Luckily I have addresses for charger locations for most of the towns in the detailed trip spreadsheet I made ahead of time. Rancho Cucamonga, the next town to Upton, has 8 chargers at the Lottery Department building. (Why Lottery? Why not Dept. of Transportation? Seems random.)
Luckily my phone is not dead yet and the route is fairly easy to follow. Luckily, I have already downloaded the ChargePoint app which is the brand of charger at this site.
Luckily Jacob is charging his car when I arrive. He saves me from trying the wrong plug (the Tesla version), directs me away from the slower level 2 charger to the faster level 3 charger. He helps me figure out how get my phone to talk to the charger unit and stays with me to be sure it properly charging. He is kind and patient with this very talkative stranger who is clearly clueless about most aspects of charging.
The car charges fully in 45 minutes. It is dark. I want to drive out this charge and charge once more overnight. I get back to Route 15, head up over the Cajon Pass. The signs say, Trucks only in the far right lane. Still, I drive more slowly than most of the other cars, watching the dash readouts, conserving charge.
The Cajon Pass is not as steep or as long as I anticipated. I like the visibility around the Blue Frog. To me, the car has fewer blind spots than some of my other cars. Maybe because it is so short.
I think I will make Barstow but I am not sure where I will charge there. Instead, I stop in Victorville at the Holiday Inn. I have not booked ahead and I get the second to last room. Outside are a Tesla charger and a Clipper Level 2 J-1776 charger that works with the Blue Frog. I plug in and go up to sleep myself.
We traveled 101 miles today, close enough to 106. Tomorrow Las Vegas.