If you’re tired of hearing EVs referred to as “compliance vehicles,” “commute-only vehicles,” or “econo-boxes,” I have news for you!
To celebrate National Drive Electric Week 2020, My wife, Bonnie and I will be heading out on Sunday, October 4th in a Chevy Bolt EV, to some great spots, in Texas, for four days of camping, kayaking, swimming, hiking, bicycling, photography and of course Texas barbecue, Tex-Mex dining, and beers (in moderation).
**Itinerary may be downloaded here**
We hope you’ll come along, virtually.
(No, the Bolt EV will not look like the one above, although I wish…)
You’ll be able to follow our adventure on my Facebook pages, “The EVangelist” and “My Electric Vehicle Journey,” my Instagram feed, “buzz_the_ev_angelist” or my LinkedIn page. We’ll be posting updates, whenever and wherever we can get to the Internet. Once we get back, Bonnie (who is a great professional video editor) will be editing the video to document our trip. I wonder how I can get that on Netflix…
Our sponsor for this event is Classic Chevrolet, my former employer. Many, many thanks to Tom Durant, Bentley Durant, Mike Ward, Dorian Jimenez and Hank Gaylor for their enthusiastic support of just about every EV idea I’ve pitched to them.
Bonnie and I are going to camp, hike and bike at Enchanted Rock. During the trip, if we get the chance, we may venture out to Luckenbach, Texas, for some live music, but I don’t think Willie, Waylon and the boys will be there.
On day 2, we will probably stay at Enchanted Rock, for some hiking on the rock. We’ll probably only venture away to get dinner in town.
Day 3 is the big tour of the Texas Hill Country, including a visit Natural Bridge Caverns to (unfortunately, no time for the tour), swimming and/or kayaking on the Comal River in New Braunfels. While in New Braunfels, we’ll also stop by Valmark Chevrolet, to grab a DC fast charge. After charging, we’ll continue our trek, with swimming at Jacob’s Well (if we can ever figure out how to make a reservation…).
Although Hamilton Pool is closed, due to the pandemic, I’m hoping to get some drone footage of it. It is a majestically beautiful spot and (for once) there won’t be any people there, cluttering the scene.
On day 4, we will add some range with a short charging session and then drive to the Texas Rowing Center, in Austin, to kayak in Lady Bird Lake (also known as the Colorado River). While on the river/lake, the Bolt EV will “fill up” at a DC fast charger, for the long drive home.
One last stop, before heading home, will be at Iron Works Barbecue. Iron Works has one of my favorite barbecue treats (beef ribs), and is housed in a very old blacksmith’s shop (hence the name). Just thinking about those ribs has me salivating right now…
The “In Wheel Time” radio program will interview me, via a Zoom meeting, the Saturday before we leave and then on the Saturday, after we return, to see how things went. We will have video cameras in the Bolt EV, as well as other video capture devices and will upload those videos when we can.
This will be a real world experience. There aren’t many EV chargers (yet) on the way to, or at, Enchanted Rock, so we’ll be watching the “guess-o-meter” often and referring to apps, like PlugShare if things get dicey. I had originally selected a rural route to Enchanted Rock, where there was only one charger site, located at a the Bluebonnet Country Club, in Hico, Texas. The reason for the route, was I was curious how the club became such EV fans. The have three chargers (two Telsa and one Level 2) and offer charging for free, including a ride into town to get a meal or shop, while your EV is charging. There is a canopy over the chargers, comprised of 42 solar panels. I tried several times to contact the club, before finding a notice that they’ve closed for the off-season.
One variable I’m facing, is how the Bolt EV’s efficiency will be affected by the wind drag of the kayak and bicycles. The trip pre-planning I’ve done and my preference for not getting stranded should make things go smoothly, but if you’re a fan of reality TV, you might have fun watching our progress.
#TheEVangelist #ClassicEVAdventure #EV #MEVJ #texasEV #TxETRA #NDEW2020 #ElectricVehicle #BoltEVTexasAdventure
