YeOldeTraveller
Well-Known Member
- First Name
- Clark
- Joined
- Jul 12, 2024
- Threads
- 6
- Messages
- 332
- Reaction score
- 386
- Location
- Ann Arbor, MI, USA
- Vehicles
- 2024 MME Rally
- Thread starter
- #1
I was heading to a gathering of friends on the Keweenaw Peninsula. I didn't want to do this as a single long day, so I added a detour along the entire length of M-22 through the Leelanau Peninsula. This was my first foray into a area with limited charging or long gaps between chargers along the route.
I started with a good charge, and was able to make the Electrify America (EA) site in Bay City near a Meijer. I started the charge session, and got lunch at the Culvers across the parking lot. Next stop was the EA site near a Meijer in Cadillac. I left out the back way and headed for Manistee and the start of M-22. I stopped at Inspiration Point. This was a great stop, but the low clouds limited what could be seen. I stopped at a Red E charger just off the road in Empire for a quick charge. I did some shopping in Glen Arbor, and then finished the run along M-22. As I left Traverse City, the storms that had been brewing all day caught up to me, and it was like driving in a car wash all the way to Gaylord. Once I finally got the charge started at the EA near the Meijer there, I walked to the near by Buffalo Wild Wings for dinner. Once done with dinner, I drove up to Mackinaw City, and used the Rivian Adventure Network (RAN) charger just before you get to the Bridge. For My '24 MME Rally, this is the long jump. The next opportunity for full speed DCFC is in Marquette. I could have charged higher, but I was originally planning to stop for the night just across the Straits. However, I pushed through to Marquette, but I would need to drive slow to get there with a comfortable buffer, or stop in Munising and not have to worry about the speed as much. I did run at my normal cruising speed and stopped near the City Hall in Munising. These are slow (for DCFC) chargers, and there are just two of them, but it was late and not an issue. I got enough to make it to Marquette which has options for fast charging, but the hotel had a Blink Level 2 charger that topped up the car nicely by morning.
Second day was much shorter as I had enough to make it all the way to Houghton in one jump without issue. I charged at the ChargePoint on the Parking Desk while I got lunch at The Library Restaurant. I finished the day with a drive out to Copper Harbor, mostly to check on the chargers there. I got a quick drink at the Mariner North while getting a few electrons from the Red E Leve l 2 chargers in the parking lot. I had enough charge for the rest of my stay. I will also add that the Rally loved getting off the pavement.
The return trip was a single day back with stops in Houghton (charged on the Parking Desk again with breakfast at Suomi Home Bakery & Restaurant), Marquette (charged at the Tesla Supercharger near the Meijer while getting lunch at the Burger King a short hike away), Mackinaw City (back at the RAN site with dinner at Scalawags), and Saginaw (EVgo at the Flying J).
Most of the charge sessions were low drama, but a few are worth mention:
I started with a good charge, and was able to make the Electrify America (EA) site in Bay City near a Meijer. I started the charge session, and got lunch at the Culvers across the parking lot. Next stop was the EA site near a Meijer in Cadillac. I left out the back way and headed for Manistee and the start of M-22. I stopped at Inspiration Point. This was a great stop, but the low clouds limited what could be seen. I stopped at a Red E charger just off the road in Empire for a quick charge. I did some shopping in Glen Arbor, and then finished the run along M-22. As I left Traverse City, the storms that had been brewing all day caught up to me, and it was like driving in a car wash all the way to Gaylord. Once I finally got the charge started at the EA near the Meijer there, I walked to the near by Buffalo Wild Wings for dinner. Once done with dinner, I drove up to Mackinaw City, and used the Rivian Adventure Network (RAN) charger just before you get to the Bridge. For My '24 MME Rally, this is the long jump. The next opportunity for full speed DCFC is in Marquette. I could have charged higher, but I was originally planning to stop for the night just across the Straits. However, I pushed through to Marquette, but I would need to drive slow to get there with a comfortable buffer, or stop in Munising and not have to worry about the speed as much. I did run at my normal cruising speed and stopped near the City Hall in Munising. These are slow (for DCFC) chargers, and there are just two of them, but it was late and not an issue. I got enough to make it to Marquette which has options for fast charging, but the hotel had a Blink Level 2 charger that topped up the car nicely by morning.
Second day was much shorter as I had enough to make it all the way to Houghton in one jump without issue. I charged at the ChargePoint on the Parking Desk while I got lunch at The Library Restaurant. I finished the day with a drive out to Copper Harbor, mostly to check on the chargers there. I got a quick drink at the Mariner North while getting a few electrons from the Red E Leve l 2 chargers in the parking lot. I had enough charge for the rest of my stay. I will also add that the Rally loved getting off the pavement.
The return trip was a single day back with stops in Houghton (charged on the Parking Desk again with breakfast at Suomi Home Bakery & Restaurant), Marquette (charged at the Tesla Supercharger near the Meijer while getting lunch at the Burger King a short hike away), Mackinaw City (back at the RAN site with dinner at Scalawags), and Saginaw (EVgo at the Flying J).
Most of the charge sessions were low drama, but a few are worth mention:
- The EA in Cadillac has 1 of 4 stations down, and one of the other stations would not activate for a Rivian. (The other two were in use when I drove up.)
- The EA in Gaylord would not activate with Plug & Charge or the EA app, but the FordPass app worked.
- The Flo charger in Munising worked, but it was 23 KW. The unit I did not use did not have a working credit card reader, but is reported to provide 50 KW.
- I needed to use the WiFi from the Mariner North to get the connection needed to activate the Level 2 charger in Copper Harbor. I would get an RFID from Red E if I was going to be around here more often. The DCFC unit is an abandoned Enel X unit, and while it had power, I was unable to activate it. It might work with an RFID, but that has yet to be demonstrated.
- There was a Level 2 Rivian charger in Calumet that I was also not able to activate.
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