My only visit to Las Vegas was a connection at the airport. I realize that does not count. And I have heard it was built in the desert. But that never really sunk in until I drove here.

I left Barstow at 3:30pm after blogging and texting in the parked car. The car had 206 miles of range and I needed to go 161 miles according to Mapquest. With my odometer at 15,739 I traveled exactly 162 miles from Barstow with 60 miles of range remaining. How did I get the extra range?  I drove mostly behind trucks to slipstream and to force me to drive slower. Also, there is a wild downhill stretch before Vegas that regenerative braking helped provide more energy to the battery.

The 118 degrees as I drove past the Mojave desert shocked me, but I was at a cool 70 in the car. The chargers in Las Vegas are in a parking garage without restroom onsite.  After plugging in the car, I headed out into the 112 degree heat. I met Ashena, who is Persian, Japanese, and something else (so sorry I forget, but maybe she can send a comment to remind me). Her name actually means “friendly”. And she certainly was since she helped me find Container Park and even walked me there. This is a place with shipping containers converted to shops and restaurants. It is on 8th and Fremont… only 3 blocks from the supercharger. There was an outdoor live music performance and restroom facilities. The coolest thing was the gigantic preying mantis that kids could climb in. I took a photo of it with my flip phone.

When I returned to the car I met Al, another Tesla owner who was driving from Quebec to California. He was very helpful with suggestions for my upcoming journey since he had already come from the places where I will be going. And he warned about an accident and road work that has northbound traffic at a standstill. Lucky me. So perhaps I will take my time before leaving here. Next blog tomorrow from Beaver,Utah.  Be well.  Frugal Tesla