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"I'M NOT READY!" the younger brother yells, merging onto an incredibly congested, fast-moving freeway as a first-time driver. "YOU'LL NEVER BE READY!" the older brother bellows.
On the surface, this simple quote from the 2020 animated movie Onward seems insignificant. However, it's one of my favorite quotes from any movie, ever. In real life I try to anticipate pitfalls and prepare for them. However, real life is never neat and tidy. There will always be a curveball. The inherent lesson is that if we wait until we feel "ready" for something, it'll likely never happen. We have to go with the flow and make the best of the situation, no matter how comically unprepared we feel.
Why do I reference this, you ask? Because upon arrival in Texas (see part I of this entry if you missed it), despite choosing a gas-powered rental car, our only choices were two electric vehicles. Given the exhaustion from an 11:30pm arrival, I begrudgingly accepted the situation and postponed my anxiety until getting some rest.
Let me say straight away that I'm not opposed to electric vehicles; I think they have tremendous potential in fact. However, I was not ready to drive one on this trip, especially since I'd be motoring from San Antonio to Kansas City in a few days, nearly 900 miles. I honestly don't know much about the charging infrastructure within 50 miles of home, let alone halfway across the country in states I've never set foot in before.
The apprehension about inadequate charging infrastructure in rural Bible Belt states became real. Here's my analogy for EV newbies: picture driving an unfamiliar vehicle in unfamiliar territory. You can't fill the "tank" more than halfway (~250-mile range vs. 500+ in my personal vehicle). Now, take away 90% of the gas stations. Stressed yet? The final, cringeworthy surprise is that of the 10% of stations that do exist, many are non-functional. Of course, you don't know this until you get there. If one is out of order, the next one might be dozens of miles away. Have I mentioned that instead of 5 minutes to gas up, waiting for a full charge could be hours if the charging station is not a fast one? The energy was getting sucked out of this road trip before it had even begun.
After dropping Alyse and Julia off at San Antonio Airport on the morning of September 15, 2024, it was time to set off to the north. My destination for the evening was McAlester, Oklahoma, chosen prior to the EV as a central location between SA and my ultimate destination of Kansas City*. I was conscious of the absurd irony: I was in the dusty west, a modern-day pioneer with more technology at my disposal than at any time in history but hamstrung by an issue (unknown refueling options) that was a step back from the wagon trains of 200 years ago.
*Why Kansas City? Well, in addition to having the cheapest airfare home ($99), it would allow me to visit three new states, bringing my total to 41
My first planned stop was Fort Worth - roughly 4 hours north of San Antonio - to meet a former colleague and friend, a New Hampshire native who's now lived in Texas for a decade. Predicting an exact arrival time was difficult enough, but I had to find energy along the way. I was delighted to find chargers right off I-35 in Waco, home to Baylor University.
There were six in a Walmart - two of them were vacant, and I gleefully pulled up to one. Maybe this wouldn't be as bad as I'd thought. A man, perhaps my age, with a vaguely European accent, came up to me and said gravely that both of the vacant chargers were out of order. Neither one was marked as such. Not only that, I'd have to jockey for position in an informal "line" of other vehicles for one of the few functional ones.
While waiting, I helped a woman in her new Mercedes who didn't know upon which side her charging plug was located. Despite very different life situations, she was surprisingly down-to-earth and helped me with my first "hurry up and wait" fast charging experience. We were all in this together. I couldn't wait outside though, because it was nearly 100 degrees with diabolical, swampish humidity. You can guess how much shade there was in a Central Texas Walmart parking lot. I plunked my butt in the car and taxed the battery more by running the AC - it was the only option.
Finally charged to about 80%, I said "good enough", and bolted for Fort Worth. Given that I'd be spending an hour or two with my friend, I had wanted to plug in there since I'd still have 3 hours to go after the meetup (again, this route was planned before I knew there'd be EV considerations). My pre-researched location was in a business park that was gated upon arrival. Facepalm. I found an alternate station, perhaps a mile away, and plugged in there while having a late lunch with Daniel and his girlfriend.
Lunch was terrific and was followed by ice cream and even a mini tour afterwards. We perambulated the Ft Worth Water Gardens, a unique, vaguely dystopian collection of water features and hardscaped plazas. It was thoroughly and unambiguously modern - if it was 1970.
Given that I still had roughly 200 miles to go and it was past 5:00, we did a drive-by of the historically redeveloped Stockyards District, which paid homage to the former vibes of this western cow town.
I thanked my friends profusely for the tour and fired up the Mach-E. To my utter dismay, it hadn't been charging during my time in Ft Worth after all. I'd have another stop to make before laying my head on an Oklahoma pillow that night.
After having found a semi-fast charger at a 7-11 in the northern Dallas suburbs, I had procured enough juice to get to my rural barn Airbnb.
The next morning, I had originally planned to hit the road between 7 and 7:30 to enhance my time sightseeing en route to KC. In reality, I had to - you guessed it - charge up yet again before proceeding northeast through more rural Oklahoma and crossing into Arkansas' northwest corner.
The good news is that there was a charging bank within a couple miles of my lodging - I was down to 25%, the lowest I'd been the whole trip. The bad news is that after trying two separate units with no results, the one that eventually worked was significantly slower than I'd hoped. (I haven't even mentioned the minor inconvenience of having to download multiple apps for the different companies providing the energy).
To kill some time, I proceeded on foot to a nearby coffee shop. The part of McAlester I ambled through was not pretty - it almost looked as if a bomb had detonated, buildings and structures ranging from shuttered to shattered. Vacant and/or creepy lots proliferated, and I kept my wits about me. Incongruously, there was a very pleasant purveyor of AM caffeine nearby.
When my cappuccino came out, I was told to "have a blessed day". Without thinking, I quickly left, realizing that I just turned down a perfectly good wifi opportunity in exchange for the mean streets. When the car finally was up to about 75% (it was now after 9:00), I left McAlester and noticed that had I proceeded another block or two during my walk, there was a far less derelict Main Street I had just missed. Oh well. For better or worse, it's the only city I would visit in the Sooner State.
I did make one more stop in Oklahoma, however, at the delightful Natural Falls State Park. Now two hours behind my original schedule, I basically power-walked to several waterfall viewpoints before getting back in the car and heading east into Arkansas.
My one stop in Arkansas (excluding yet another charge - thankfully a fast one) was in Bentonville. You may recognize the name as the hometown of Sam Walton of Walmart fame. While I'm no huge fan, I thought it might be interesting to spend a few minutes in the original Walmart store. To my great disappointment, it was under construction.
I therefore did an abbreviated walking tour of downtown, which was surprisingly compact and agreeable after so much sprawl over the last week. I bought a souvenir at a locally owned shop and a sandwich to go, which I ate pitifully in the car. State #40 - check.
I had two more non-charging stops on the agenda before an evening arrival at a KC Airbnb; the minuscule town of Galena, in Kansas' southeastern corner, and Fort Scott, about an hour due north.
Both had historic significance, the former as a stop on the peerless Route 66 (I actually drove a few miles of it, my first time since way back in 2008 on the Arizona portion), and the latter for events leading up to the Civil War.
Fort Scott's downtown, while eerily deserted on a Monday evening, was exceedingly handsome. I walked right into the cobblestone streets for photos without fear of being smushed by an oncoming F-150. I hadn't really done much other than walk around and take photos, but I now had two Kansas towns to add to my map.
The older I get, the less excitement comes with the initial steps into a new state. Despite my best attempts to maintain a childlike wonder, perhaps I've become jaded in my middle age years. However, there is definitely a subdued satisfaction in having visited 41 of our 50 states. With 8 years to go until the dreaded 50th birthday, achieving the remaining 9 in those years (3-4 trips + Hawaii) is definitely doable. Now that's exciting.
Physically and mentally exhausted from 850 electric miles now in the rearview, I had one final morning to explore a new city before heading back to the airport just after lunch for my flight back east.
With limited experience in midwestern metropolises (metropoli?), KC gave me Cincinnati vibes. More laid back than eastern cities, neighborhoods ranged from downtrodden to quirky, historic, and walkable.
Highlights of my few hours included admiring several of the city's famous fountains, staring skyward in awe at the magnificent interior of Union Station, taking in sweeping cityscape views from the National World War I Memorial, and breezing through both the American Jazz and Negro Leagues Baseball Museums.
Both were unique and fascinating in their own ways.
But I had one final stop to make before returning - I needed some KC Barbecue. I found a place downtown, enormous and with country music blaring. Ordinarily I'd avoid such places, especially when traveling alone. However, in the spirit of going with the flow, I leaned in and was served a sublimely savory BBQ pork sandwich post haste.
My EV adventure was complete - or was it? The car rental company required me to bring the vehicle back with a 75% charge. There was one final stressful moment as the slow charger had me at about 83%. I still had to get to the airport, 15+ miles from downtown. Would I risk a fine if I pulled in at 74%? I drove like a granny, occasionally 10-15mph below the speed limit, but in the end, I pulled in with 77% remaining.
I parted ways with the Mustang after a road trip like none other. It was the longest south-north one of my life, as well as my longest solo one in 24 years of driving. I had made it. The lost time, lost sleep, and general stress had been significant, though I had really enjoyed the car itself with its tech wizardry and sneaky smooth performance.
Would I recommend an EV for a trip where driving is among a known charging network or in an urban area? Unequivocally yes. However, it was always the wrong fit for this type of trip.* I was never ready, but in the end, I made it work anyway.
If you were wondering, I actually requested a partial refund from the rental company after returning home. The cost of the lost time, to say nothing of the route deviations, was considerable. I was rewarded with a free rental day for next time. Not what I was hoping for, but better than nothing I guess.
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