Tesla Model S - Petrified Forest
Petrified Forest Model S
Monday, August 6, 2018
Days Charging at
Destination   Supercharger
0 1
La Posada Hotel
After breakfast in the Turquoise Room, we checked out of La Posada Hotel, packed up the luggage into the car and we were off to Petrified Forest.

It turns out La Posada brochure display included Petrified Forest National Park maps. On the map the Park advised that the most efficient way to visit this National Park was to use highway 180 to enter via the south entrance, then exit the park via the north entrance at Painted Desert. I was still trying to decide which way to go after Petrified Forest, either have lunch at the Holbrook Supercharger or simply continue east, but I figured that depended on how long our visit turned out to be.

Petrified Forest National Park
TimeEventRange Remaining
8:50 amDeparted La Posada Hotel242
9:47 amArrived Petrified Forest, Rainbow Forest Museum Visitors Center173
Range/Distance ratio: 1.28
Conditions: Drafting, 87°F
Petrified Forest South Entrance

We went right to the Rainbow Forest Museum Visitors Center so my children could pick up their Junior Ranger books to begin their activities.

But when we approached the Visitors Center I noticed a pair of ChargePoint stations. Why not take advantage of the charging while we're here? So I plugged in.

We spent a lot of time here. Actually too much time inside the Visitors Center we were struggling to find a lot of the clues to try to solve the pages my kids happened to choose.

Finally I convinced them to take a walk outside in the Rainbow Forest to see the actual petrified wood in the field. That's what we were really here to see: Petrified Forest is one of the best places in the world to see the fossil record from the Triassic Period. It's striking to see up close and touch the fossilized form of what obviously were tree trunks long ago but converted into colorful formations of crystallized quartz.

Petrified Forest Rainbow Forest Visitors Center

Rainbow Forest Trail

We had so much of the park to see and, considering how far behind schedule we were now, the best place for lunch was at the north end of the Park.

TimeEventRange Remaining
11:28 amDeparted Rainbow Forest Museum Visitors Center194

The upside of taking so long here was that the car got a little boost in charge.

Crystal Forest
Next we drove north to Crystal Forest.

Crystal Forest

Crystal Forest

The trail in Crystal Forest offers access to numerous petrified logs scattered on the landscape. Seeing the enormous quartz crystals formed from ancient logs up close was very unique. The little ones even sat on one or two.

Crystal Forest Trail

Blue Mesa
Next we drove north to Blue Mesa featuring formations built with sedimentary layers containing bentonite clay, which creates the blue color.

Blue Forest

Blue Mesa

Blue Forest is a region of these layers carved so deeply that visitors can hike amongst these hills as if it were a forest, hence the name. As we were leaving Blue Forest, we encountered deer, all the way out here in the 110°F desert.

The Tepees Just a little further north from Blue Mesa we found The Tepees.

Tepees

Painted Desert Painted Desert looks just its name implies: acres of desert seemingly dumped with a palette of red, brown, and yellow paint.

Pintado Point

The picturesque location inspired some to build the Painted Desert Inn so travelers can stay and marvel at the colors. Today it is an historic site.

Blue Forest

When we finally arrived at the Painted Desert Visitors Center, there was yet another charging station, so I plugged in there too. While the car charged, we had lunch, earned our Junior Ranger badges, and shopped for local memorabilia.

Painted Desert Charging

Painted Desert Visitors Center After one last chance to use the restroom here, we were back on the road eastbound.

It wasn't long before we crossed into New Mexico and another time zone.

Entering New Mexico

Gallup, New Mexico
TimeEventRange Remaining
2:40 pm PDTDeparted Painted Desert Visitors Center150
4:38 pm MDTArrived Gallup Supercharger68
Range/Distance ratio: 1.24
Conditions: 110°F

My children and I needed the bathroom break, so we were glad that Hampton Inn offered their facilities. After having a late lunch today, they didn't feel like having dinner just yet, but I still offered them some snacks from the hotel's vending machine. Bathroom Anxiety

Cost to Charge: $0

Gallup Supercharger

This segment of the drive featured more scenic desert scenery including several impressive rock formations. We could just barely see Ship Rock in the distance, far past three other similar formations that were obvious to see.

Farmington Supercharger

Farmington, New Mexico
TimeEventRange Remaining
5:18 pm MDTDeparted Gallup188
7:29 pm MDTArrived Farmington Supercharger62
Range/Distance ratio: 1.03
Conditions: 97°F

The drive descending from the mesa and down into Farmington was surprisingly curvy. When we arrived at the Supercharger, my children picked the nearby Chili's for dinner.

Cost to Charge: $0

Farmington Supercharger

(And Farmington was the last Supercharger we would see for days.)

Durango, Colorado
TimeEventRange Remaining
8:36 pm MDTDeparted Farmington229
9:41 pm MDTArrived Doubletree in Durango171
Range/Distance ratio: 1.03
Conditions: 97°F

The evening was still surprisingly warm. In my original plan I intended to arrive here sooner, but this lateness is a direct result of our spending more time than planned at the Rainbow Forest Museum. After having dinner, we looked forward to a shorter drive to the Doubletree in Durango, Colorado.

We arrived too late to enjoy the pool here tonight, so we checked in and settled for the night. Then I plugged the car into one of this Doubletree's Tesla charging stalls, the one closest our room. A Model 3 was plugged into a farther one.

Cost to Charge: $0

Dean E. Dauger holds a Ph. D. in physics from UCLA, where his group created the first Mac cluster in 1998. Dr. Dauger is the award-winning author in multiple American Institute of Physics' Software Contests and co-authored the original, award-winning Kai's Power Tools image-processing package for Adobe Photoshop. After founding his company, Dauger Research, Inc., its debut product, Pooch, derived from Dr. Dauger's experience using clusters for his physics research, was soon awarded as "most innovative" by IEEE Cluster and continues to revolutionize parallel computing and clusters worldwide with its patented technology.



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