While checking the area out online last night we discovered there were several nearby roadside attractions. We decided to spend the day posing for fun photos as we continue to make our way south.
First up was the "Road Sign Sculpture" in Mt Vernon.
Next we stopped at the "George Harrison Mural" along Airport Ln in Brenton.
We couldn't resist stopping in Metropolis to see Superman.
This town has clearly discovered that there are a lot of superhero fans willing to spend money. They have a superhero gift shop, a superman museum, and many shops have a superhero cutout of some sort out front to lure in potential customers.
The guy that owns the superman museum recommended Yesterday's Diner for lunch in town, and it was a very charming and friendly place.
By this point we had used up about two-thirds of the battery charge on the Tesla. And we decided to look for charging opportunities on the vehicle navigation. The nearest Supercharger was in Kuttawa, Kentucky, so we decided we'd go plug in for a bit while we figure out where we want to spend the night. We arrived in Kuttawa just before 3pm and plugged in with 40 miles of range to spare.
Neither of us really wanted to travel much after dark, so we looked around for hotels within 2 hours south of Kuttawa that provided complimentary electric vehicle charging. Fifteen minutes later we had booked the Dickson, Tennessee, Comfort Inn. Glancing at the battery gauge we had already added over 110 miles, which gave us a total estimated range available of 150 miles. Since Dickson was less than 100 miles away (and we'd be able to charge at the hotel), we didn't see any need stay at the super charger any longer.
Unfortunately, I hadn't accounted for the heavy rain and strong headwind we'd encounter, nor the fact that getting to Dickson involves increasing elevation by another 400 feet while traversing a lot of hilly ground.
As we rolled into the hotel parking the gauge indicated only 16 miles of estimated range remaining. I had been monitoring the gauge for the past hour and while I was always confident that we had enough charge to make it, I was also concerned enough not to lose track of the difference between how far the navigation said we had remaining and how much remaining range the gauge estimated.
After having some dinner and getting settled in our room, we looked at the map, and have decided to head to Columbus, Georgia tomorrow. There is a wild life sanctuary we can drive through just north of there in Pine Mountain. If we don't change our minds between now and then, we may have some wild animal photos for the blog tomorrow. We may make an attempt at a bit of time travel along the way.
Here are a few really nice sunset photos Lisa captured as we were passing through the Clarksville area:
Weather conditions: 59 degrees, 15 mph headwind, overcast, rainy all day.
Starting location: Salem, IL Holiday Inn
Ending location: Dickson, TN, Comfort Inn
Total miles travelled: 285.81
Departure time: 8:56
Arrival time: 17:32
Drive duration: 5:59 (+ 2:21 siteseeing and 0:16 charging)
Overall average speed: 47.8 mph
Total kilowatt hours used: 91.93
Average miles per kilowatt hour: 3.11
Estimated range available at departure: 310 miles
Estimated range added at supercharger: 111 miles
Estimated range remaining at arrival: 16 miles
Range lost due to driving conditions (weather, altitude, etc): 119 miles (29%)
Kilowatt hours added: 91.93 kWh
Charging cost: $3.08
Effective cost per kilowatt hour: $0.034
Cost per 100 miles: $1.09
Local gasoline price: $1.79
Estimated cost per 100 miles for a vehicle that gets 30 mpg: $5.97
Electric vehicle savings over today's 285.81 miles compared to a 30 mpg vehicle: $13.97
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