# A misty mountain drive



## JML (Jul 26, 2018)

I didn't see a forum tagged for ride reports, so I'm putting this here. If this isn't the right spot, please move it, and I'll know better next time.

This weekend I had the chance to take my Model 3 on one of my favorite mountain routes.



  




 It goes up Squaw Pass Road to the base of Mount Evans. It's too late in the season to drive to the top of Mount Evans, but it's the _other_, and much nicer, 14er that you can drive to the top of in Colorado. Squaw Pass Road goes along the side of a mountain, instead of through a canyon, so you get all the twists and switchbacks, but with views of the valley and mountains, instead of canyon walls.

It was an overcast day, with low clouds. Which means, as soon as I gained some altitude, I was into them. This picture just doesn't do justice to the wispy fog moving in patches between the trees.








I gained enough altitude to break out from the low clouds and get higher clouds, but also some sun and blue sky.









From Echo Lake Park I went back to Idaho Springs, and then up to Central City and Black Hawk. There is supposed to be destination charging at some of the casinos, but I didn't investigate, because I don't gamble, and didn't need lunch. Someday I'll stop to be disappointed by the $7.95 prime rib.

As expected, the car performed great. No noticeable power loss with altitude, because why would there be? Autosteer does not like switchbacks. At one point the screen started flashing red, the warning honk sounded, and it just gave up. Mostly I was letting it drive to satisfy my curiosity as to how it would perform. It was also a bit timid, in that on a 40MPH stretch, going around a curve with a yellow (warning) speed of 30MPH, the autopilot took it at 36MPH. The curve would have been fine at 40-45MPH. I don't like to go more than about 5 over on these roads, even if the car is capable of doing much more. It's just too dangerous around blind curves with wild life, bicycles, slow cars, oncoming traffic crossing the center line, etc.

Due to regeneration, I ended up getting 208 Wh/mi, and used 23kWh. Based on my night time charging rate, the whole thing cost me less than $2. Even my motorcycle would have used $6 of gas.

Here are some more pictures.


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## FRC (Aug 4, 2018)

Beautiful pictures! The mountains in the background look nice too.


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