Tuesday, October 27, 2015

Leaf'd

Yesterday, we had the best lost Mount Rushmore stop yet.

If you've stopped by here regularly for almost any length of time, you've probably heard me complain talk about the tourists that turn up at the camp because of some elaborate Google error/prank. I will tell you right now that the problem continues to plague us.

But every once in awhile, we get a gem.

This time, a heavily-stickered Nissan Leaf stopped.

No exaggeration on the "heavily" part of that.

As it happens, we were inadvertently included in the Negative Carbon Road Trip, a fantastic undertaking with the goal of hitting the 48 contiguous states (and Quebec, if I'm remembering some of the writing on the car correctly) including each state capital in 100 days with an all-electric vehicle. For those keeping track at home, that's over 26,000 miles -- all without a drop of unleaded.

BK (the driver) took us up on the not-totally-necessary chance to charge (hey, top off when you can!) and we absolutely bombarded him with things to see in the area. A solid 90 minutes passed before he was headed back up our driveway, a couple new stickers on the car and now possessing the rather dubious honor of being our best Mount Rushmore story yet.

Even better, as I am on the eve of my own road trip, I find myself pondering a switch. Sophie won't last forever and hey, that Leaf up there is a glimpse of the future. Alas, I had resisted the urge to ask the pile of questions I had about the car, thinking (incorrectly) that I would have bored the heck out of the Chef Lady.

[Also hesitated because I don't know the politics. Is this like the smartphone world? Are there Tesla people and Nissan people and they just can't stand each other? I didn't know where to start.]

Perhaps it's time for the research to begin.

4 comments:

BlindManNoFish said...

Hahaha! What a nice compliment, Ashley.

I will correct one point, however...mainly because some EVers probably groan to see my car (Nissan Leaf) compacted with the Chevy Volt. I mentioned both (see Volters, I don't hate your car!)

We had a very pleasant discussion, 'tis true. I gushed about how great EVs are, and my lovely hosts welcomed me to a decidedly not-Mount Rushmorey retreat--including details on the best little-known hotspots. [Notes: that bridge your grandfather designed was way cool...and those double figure eight road/roads made even a non-civil engineer groan. Lunch at Alpine was first rate, and I managed to share that lunch with two great Australian visitors I found at the Hill City visitor center in the Global Roamer 2.]

Amazing day overall, which could not have been changed even by a few seconds else it could not have possibly gobe so well.

See you all next year!

BlindManNoFish said...

Hahaha! What a nice compliment, Ashley.

I will correct one point, however...mainly because some EVers probably groan to see my car (Nissan Leaf) compacted with the Chevy Volt. I mentioned both (see Volters, I don't hate your car!)

We had a very pleasant discussion, 'tis true. I gushed about how great EVs are, and my lovely hosts welcomed me to a decidedly not-Mount Rushmorey retreat--including details on the best little-known hotspots. [Notes: that bridge your grandfather designed was way cool...and those double figure eight road/roads made even a non-civil engineer groan. Lunch at Alpine was first rate, and I managed to share that lunch with two great Australian visitors I found at the Hill City visitor center in the Global Roamer 2.]

Amazing day overall, which could not have been changed even by a few seconds else it could not have possibly gobe so well.

See you all next year!

Ashley said...

Well, that was an embarrassing typo! I could swear that was correct the first time I wrote ... I'm blaming my laptop for that one and the late-night rewrite I had to do. :)

So glad you enjoyed our piece of paradise! Have a great drive!

Unknown said...

Hey Nice Article!,

Ashley if you have any questions ask away. I go to 100 car shows and farmers markets and street fairs with my #NissanLEAF to help spread the word about #ElectricCARs

So if you have any Questions either go to my website (which has links to other sites) or post a response.

Brian Kent is a good friend, the NJ Tree is in my front yard! :)

You can also find me on FaceBook at EVHOLE dot com

Sal Cameli