thesimpleHOUSE

The next morning, we met Gabby and Loren at Brownie’s, got our sandwiches and headed to the park. It was cloudy, cool, windy and we couldn’t see much on the way in. We did have a wonderful conversation with them, however, and realized that yes, we did make the right choice giving them a ride.

With the “less than” weather, we skipped the Logan Pass parking lot. It was full anyway.

We dropped them off at the trailhead to Piegan Pass. That trail is 4.5 miles and has an elevation gain of 1,750 feet. The wind and clouds were picking up, so we did a few pull outs after that point, drove to the other end of the park and were a little disappointed at the weather. The winds picked up, which helped clear out the clouds, but made hiking more difficult.

Unfortunately, we drove too far west and couldn’t get back on to the road. Apparently the driving pass to Going to the Sun road kicks in INSIDE the park, not at the park entrance. No amount of pleading with the Ranger helped, so we had to loop back around the south end outside the park.

But it did allow us to visit Two Medicine on our way back. By this time, the clouds had cleared somewhat although the winds were still brisk.

On our hike to Running Eagle Falls, we met a couple from Texas, engaged in conversation and found out their favorite hike had been Hidden Lake Trail. That was on our list, but was at the Logan Pass parking lot, which fills up early. Maybe tomorrow…

By the end of the day, having made lemonade out of our lemons not being able to get back onto the road through the park, the winds had cleared out the clouds and it was shaping up to be a nice day tomorrow.

Returning to our cabin, we stopped by Brownie’s again for muffins the next morning so we could get there early for the Logan Pass parking. As we were leaving, we ran into Gabby and Loren who had hitched a ride back with someone after their hike. I asked how it was and Loren said “great!”. Gabby said “we almost DIED!”. She said there were times they hugged the mountain to keep from being blown off the trail. I think he’s a bit more adventurous than she is.

So we took our muffins back, plugged in Scarlett for the next day and settled in for the evening.

As I mentioned in my last post, it’s a charging desert around Glacier National Park. Coming in from Spokane, we stopped at St Regis, Montana where there is a Supercharger.

Yes. That’s the Supercharger. Behind me is a gift shop and gas station and that’s about it. It was a hot day but this was our only choice for a charging stop. Normally, we like to stop for lunch and charge while eating. Usually, as my friend Merlyn says “the car is ready before we are.” However, the food choices in St Regis were, let’s say, limited.

We charged, visited the gift shop (do people really buy that stuff?) and were on our way. The next best place for lunch seemed to be Plains, Montana. Population 1,100. Yelp, our go-to source for food said the Butcher’s Nook was the best option. So we gave it a go. Cute little place. Seems to be run by perhaps a Mennonite family. Very clean, friendly. We split a BLT with fries and it was actually quite good.

From Plains, we made our way on in to East Glacier and checked in to the Pine Mountain Motel. We had heard the Logan Pass parking lot fills up early, so we planned on getting up early the next morning for the drive in.

We always take our own coffee with us. Palace Coffee French Roast. We also take our grinder, our French Press and an electric water heating carafe. Yes, we’re coffee snobs. To avoid the breakfast rush, after dinner at the local pizza truck (decent, but speedy) we went to Brownie’s across from our motel (there aren’t many choices in East Glacier, either) and got some pastries for a quick morning breakfast. They open at 7:00am, so we thought we’d do our pastries and coffee, then grab some sandwiches from them the next morning on our way out.

In the process, we struck up a conversation with Gabby, who is a chemical engineering student working at Brownie’s for her second summer here from Lithuania. She asked if we had two extra spots in our car for the next morning to the park. One for her and one for her fiancé, Loren (not his actual name; he said we couldn’t probably pronounce it) who was a fifth year med student, also from Lithuania.

We said, “sure” and then wondered if that was a good idea or not. So we went back to our room, plugged Scarlett in and retired for the night.

After completing our loop, we made it home. 1,864 miles, 438 kWh at an average 235 Wh/mi. Total cost for charging was $54.83.

$0.029/mile.

That’s the best we’ve ever done on a road trip thanks to all the free charging locations. Charging along the way was simple, easy and very accessible with the exception of the Steens trip.

Maybe that will change in the near future.

We bought a Modern Spare tire to take, just in case, since we were going to be in remote areas with no cell service and potholes but we didn’t need it.

Thanks to the huge trunk in the car (as well as the sub-trunk and the frunk), everything else still fit: two suitcases, two duffel bags, two backpacks, a small cooler, a boatload of charging cables and adapters (that we also didn’t need), extension cords (110v and 240v), a tire pump, binoculars, hiking poles, water bottles, coats and sweaters.

And nothing in the back seat.

To those who ask “yeah, but would you take it on a long road trip?” I have to say, “of course. We have in the past and we will in the future.”

On our next segment, we wanted to stay close to the Painted Hills. We had been there once before, but it was a pretty good jaunt just to get there. I had heard about the Fish House Inn and RV Park in Dayville. They also have rooms in addition to RV spots. I rented half of an old small home called the Salmon Room plus a power-only RV spot to charge the car.

I have to confess I had low expectations. But they were dispelled. The room was actually quite nice, it was clean, comfortable bed and quaint. We had a picnic table right outside where we ate and enjoyed ourselves.

A couple of plusses were the guy staying in the other half of the house that night, Greg, was part of the family that originally owned the property and the house we stayed in was his grandmother’s house back in the day. We had a great conversation and learned some history of the RV park and the town.

The second “plus” was meeting one of the new owners, David, and he was very hospitable. He is even going to check into putting in a Tesla Supercharger (yes, a Supercharger) on the site. His thoughts: it’s the future and if people stop to charge, they may come back to stay at the Inn. Forward-thinking.

The Painted Hills are always a treat. This was our second visit and they are just as beautiful as the first. We did the loop up through Fossil (a cute little town), Spray and Kimberly. A nice diversion and not that far.

While in this area, you must stop at Tiger Town Brewing Company in Mitchell. Mitchell is a small community of 138 people. Tiger Town has awesome sandwiches and beer. Plus, two blocks away is what I would call the most unique Tesla charger ever. It’s at Whole in the Wall, an aging, falling down vacant building. There are two Level 2 chargers, one has never worked as far as I know, but the other delivers about 50 miles of range while you’re eating lunch. You have to back up over a low curb into the weeds to plug in. But it’s also free.

After Baker City, we drove to Burns to home-base for a trip to the Steens. Charging in this part of Oregon south of Burns was a bit challenging. Lodging at the Steens was a bit too primitive for our taste. There are a couple of Level 2 charing options there, however, the FrenchGlen Hotel seemed the best option, but it’s currently closed. I spoke with a ranger there and they hoped to have a new operator for the hotel in a couple of months. They are also looking at installing a charger (hopefully). The previous operator would allow travelers to plug in to a dryer plug there. But such was not the case this trip.

I found a really cool prohibition-themed hotel in Burns, The Historic Central Hotel, and we stayed there. Very nice place. From there, we charged to 100% at the Supercharger, then trekked down to the Steens. Again, the weather was marginal, so we saw a lot of the lowland areas and wildlife refuge, but not so much of the Steens.

Also, with the lack of charging options along the way, we did not do the Round Barn or the auto tour loop. We just went down to Fields, had the famous greasy cheeseburger and milkshake at the Fields Station, then made our way back. Leaving with 100% charge, we arrived back in Burns with about 16% range left, which is about as close as I like to run it.

Some notes on Burns. 

There is a Level 2 charger at the Chamber of Commerce which is free and a couple of blocks from the hotel. It was in use. All afternoon. By the same person. There is also a Chademo and CCS charger at the CofC, but they were out of order. The Supercharger isn’t too far away and is inexpensive.

Burns is a wasteland as far as restaurants. Especially on a Sunday. The hotel is the sole oasis. We ended up eating dinner Sunday evening at the Apple Peddler across the road from the SC. Surprisingly not bad, but they were going to have to close early because they ran out of food. Yes. Really.

But do stay at the hotel. They are awesome. Plus, all the clocks in the hotel are permanently set to 4:20. Well-played.

We stopped for a night in Baker City to charge and stay at the Geiser Grand Hotel. Beautiful historic hotel. Close to a really good dinner spot (Barley Brown’s Brew Pub) and breakfast stop (Sweet Wife Baking). 

On our way to Burns, we stopped in Sumpter and toured the Sumpter Valley Dredge. This was an old, gold mining dredge that was all-electric.

With a 19 mile extension cord.

Really.

Our next leg of the trip took us to Joseph. We had never seen the Wallowas and wanted to give it a shot. Leaving fully charged from Hood River, we stopped at the Supercharger at Pendleton (listening to an audio book in the car while we charged, since we aren’t really casino people). That gave us plenty of range to get to Joseph.

In Joseph, I had booked the Bronze Antler Bed and Breakfast, partly because they are about the only ones in the area with EV charging. They have both a J-1772 and Tesla Level 2 charger. Free to guests. You can use them for a fee if you aren’t staying there. But, we like B&Bs, so we stayed.

Oh. My. Word. This has got to be the best B&B we have ever stayed at. Comfortable bed, great architectural character, walking distance to downtown Joseph and one of the best hosts we have ever encountered. Just stay there.

In Joseph, we had pizza at Embers Brew House and it was excellent. And, on recommendation of our B&B host, our lunch at The Dog Spot was awesome. It’s a funky little restaurant and dog supply store just a couple of blocks from the Inn. It’s great food!

As to the Wallowas, we saw the lower parts of them, but not the tops. The weather was a bit cloudy. So we’ll have to go back! Do take the tram to the top. If it’s clear, it would have been an amazing view. And, you never know, you might run into a friend of yours from Eugene who was also road-tripping through Oregon (we did). Small world!

We took the Hells Canyon Scenic Byway  (Hwy 39) to the overlook (mostly cloudy, still, so we’ll have to go back someday) and through Halfway.

On our way to Hood River from Redmond, we were looking for some places we had never been and Lake Billy Chinook is one. Not too far off the main road north, it’s a nice diversion.

The day use area also has two free Level 2 chargers, courtesy of Rivian. So we plugged in for our short walk at the lake and gained a few more miles. And some mosquito bites.

Once in Hood River, we stayed at a bed and breakfast and utilized the Tesla Supercharger down by the river. It’s supposed to be a fast charger (250 kW), but the best we ever got was about 300 mph of range. But it gave us the opportunity to walk along the river. Nice.

We used this as a home base for driving the scenic highway and seeing some of the waterfalls along the gorge. We started at Vista House and worked our way back. It was a beautiful, sunny day! We bought the timed pass for the road trip and the parking pass for Multnomah Falls. But I think because we were there on a Tuesday in early June, neither were needed.

For a good dinner in Hood River, check out The Mesquitery, if you like steak fare. We split the Beef Cheeks and added a side salad. It was amazing. For pizza, our B&B host recommended Double Mountain Brewery and specifically the Jersey Pie pizza. Also amazing. 

Our first two nights were in Redmond, Oregon. We wanted to be close to Smith Rock and our new-favorite restaurant in Redmond, Carnaval Mexican Grill. After an online search, I found SCP Redmond, two blocks from Carnaval and one block from free Level 2 charging (thank you, City of Redmond!).

SCP stands for Soul, Community, Planet. This small, boutique chain of hotels practices sustainability and giving back. Visit their website for more; it’s pretty cool. A medium-size hotel at 49 rooms, the service and rooms were over the top good. Highly recommend you stay there if overnighting in Redmond. They have a roof top bar, exercise room and very comfortable beds.

And Carnaval is probably the best Mexican restaurant we’ve ever eaten at. Great menu and great service. This trip marked our third time there and we will be going back on our return loop home. For breakfast and coffee, don’t miss Junction Roastery just a block from the hotel by the park. Fresh pastries and good coffee.

Smith Rock is a place we hike almost every year. It is probably one of our favorite hikes. We pack a lunch, hike along the river to Monkey Face, eat lunch, then hike back out. This year, the weather was perfect. Mid-70s and sunny. We had a great hike.

The Level 2 chargers are in the City parking lot behind the hotel. Redmond recently built a new City Hall with a new park and parking lot. There are two J-1772 chargers free to the public. And the park is really nice as well.