NOTE:  This post describes the second half of July 3rd but is being posted on July 4th.  Hopefully this is the last time I will fall behind in the daily blog!  Again I apologize for this gap in my regular posting plan.  FT

Although I had intended to blog in Silverthorne, that did not happen for 3 reasons:  1st, I had to work on tracking down a contact for my Uncle who lives in the Denver area; 2nd, with so much range left in the car, it doesn’t take as long to charge the car; and 3rd, I met and enjoyed speaking with the occupants of 2 different scarlet red Teslas that had also come to charge in Silverthorne.

The first family that I spoke with were from Colorado and were heading West to Grand Junction.  They have ancestry from India, but their names are of Arabic origin:  The dad is Khalid (name means “immortal”), the mom is Shuah (which means “ray of light”), the older son is Naeem (which means “tranquil and content”) and the youngest is Zan (which means “handsome”).  Khalid told me to check out evtripplanner.com since that will help me better manage the terrain in an all electric vehicle.  Thanks for that tip!  Shuah recommended an author, Sam Kean and she was enjoying his book “The Violinist’s Thumb” which includes the topic of genetics!  What a fine family and I hope to see them again when I return from NJ.

The 2nd family with a scarlet car was Karl and Ellen who were traveling with their Aussie shepherd, Bear.  They are the first Tesla owners that I met on this trip who were actually traveling East. They were returning to their home in Frederick, MD after attending a wedding in Montana.  They said that the Tesla is a perfect car for traveling with a dog because the time to stop and charge is about the same time that you need to walk the dog and provide him with more water.  Since there are places where the superchargers are not found yet, like around Montana, they also had experience with recharging the car at RV parks.  They headed off to enjoy a cup of coffee together with Bear happily along on leash.

I remembered that I saved an old phone message from my Uncle back after Hurricane Sandy.  He had called to check on my mom, his sister who lives at the Jersey Shore.  YES!! He left his cell number in that message.  After a happy conversation to confirm my pending arrival to his home north of Denver, I was on my way with a full charge of 205.  I arrived at his home around 1:30pm.  There, I put things in the refrigerator, set up to refreeze my ziplock bags, and settled in for a pleasant visit with an Uncle that I hadn’t seen in many years.  I will stay here through the holiday for a nice break in the trip.