Easy Drive to Big Bear Lake: Elevation 6,750 Feet:

We heard that our daughter and son-in-law were going to Big Bear Lake for a couple of nights. So, we decided this was a good opportunity to test out the range of the EV and meet them for lunch. We drove from Laguna Niguel to Big Bear Lake in the San Bernardino mountains. This is a round trip distance of about 200 miles that with some exploring around Big Bear City would end up at about 240 miles, or so. Our range when we left for the trip was about 300 miles, so we thought it would be no problem to make it up to Big Bear and back to home. 

We live in Laguna Niguel which is about 200 feet above sea level. The climb up to Big Bear at an elevation 6,750 feet ate up much more of the battery than I expected. I knew that with the regenerative breaking going back downhill we would add to our range and with supercharges at many locations along the route there would be no problem. 

We visited our daughter and son-in-law who were staying in a cabin at the Oak Knoll Lodge. The lodge was very rustic and quiet in the trees. For lunch we went into Big Bear City where we had Indian & Nepalese food at the Himalayan Restaurant on Pine Knot avenue in “The Village”. We were in Big Bear on the last weekend of Octoberfest we found there were many open-air beer gardens in the Village with the aroma of Brats grilling, and the sound of German Polkas. Combined with the many visitors celebrating Halloween with a “Spooktacular Weekend”, the Village was alive with people.

After lunch and a walkabout visiting the various shops, we headed down the mountain. I was relieved to see range being added as we descended on the winding mountain road. But there was not quite enough energy added when we were finally down from the mountains and into San Bernardino. We were 67 miles from home and we only had a range of 55 miles. So, we pulled into the nearest Supercharger which is conveniently located on Highland Avenue at the base of the hill. We added about 30 miles of range in short order and made it home with miles to spare.

For this trip: range anxiety crushed!

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