The journey becomes important again

Since I have had my Chevrolet Bolt  I have driven 4500km. In that time I have done lots of short trips 200km, and a few longer 500KM length drives. I have learned much over these kilometres. Driving around town, charging at home, day to day stuff, its super easy and convenient. There is no "range anxiety" or issues surrounding living a normal life. 

When we drove to Lake Louise to climb Mount Temple, we drove 260 km with some uphills. So we needed a charge somewhere to get us back home. Our first focus was climbing the mountain.

While climbing I organized that we would charge in the bottom of the Fairmont hotel Lake Louise. After we summited and returned to my car we drove to the hotel and parked in their parking lot. While the car got the necessary 3 hr charge ( lvl2 charger= 30km/hr), we went rock climbing at the back of the lake.  Typically we would have headed straight home. Instead we spent 3 great hours climbing and hanging around a most beautiful spot.

That's when I started to realize that the journey really regains its magic. There is no way to make it directly home so instead how can I make this down time positive. By searching out different spots with chargers it is possible to add quality time to the journey.

I will admit driving to Vancouver from Revelstoke is not as ideal as I would like it to be...yet. As it stands there is a huge gap in the middle without CCS fast chargers. Between Chase and Chilliwack there are none. Instead of stopping in Merritt, which is the half way part of the drive, we need to stop in either Chase or Chilliwack. So on our way to Vancouver, we stopped at Chase and spent an hour swimming in the lake while the car charged. I have never thought of stopping there, I have always driven past without thoughts of anything but getting to Vancouver. This time we read and swam in a great little town. 

After that we had no problems making it to Chilliwack and the Vancouver.  I would love to see some more CCS chargers appear in Merritt and Kamloops so we can stop and eat in one of these places while the car recharges. Ideally BC hydro upgrades them soon.