To put the trip in perspective, it's 178 miles. Going the speed limit, it's less than a 2 1/2 hour trip in a smoker.

https://cowboystatedaily.com/2022/10/13/wyoming-ev-road-trip-15-hours-from-cheyenne-to-casper/

Heck on the Interstate in Wyoming and Montana they have big warning signs "Next gas stop 98 miles." so those would be the last places I'd want to be with an EV.

The first tourist party to Yosemite in 1855 took, I think, five days from San Francisco. From Mariposa, currently 1 hour away by car, they took two days by horse.

I think of that a lot when I wonder if it really so important to get to places at the speed of a gas car or, for that matter, a jet. It's fundamentally a question of whether expectations match experience, rather than speed per se.

When I say "think of that a lot," I mean I keep asking myself that question over and over when trying to decide between going all-electric or PHEV. Basically, the question I ask myself is: "Is it such a big deal if the 5-6 days per year where I drive further than the range of EV turns into, say 8-9 days, is that so bad?"

I still don't have an answer to that

Supposedly the oldest road in America -King's Highway- passes just inland of my town and I use parts of it regularly.  I often think of what a hellatious, bone-jarring, wet & muddy trip it must have been.

King's Highway (Charleston to Boston) - Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King%27s_Highway_(Charleston_to_Boston)

>>hellatious

"We had been out from Mariposa about four days, and the fatigue of the journey had made us weary and a little peevish, but when our eyes looked upon the almost terrific grandeur of this scene, all, all was forgotten. "I never expected to behold so beautiful a sight!" "This scene alone amply repays me for the travel!" I should have lost the most magnificent sight that I ever saw had I not witnessed this!" were exclamations of pleasureable surprise that fell from the lips of all, as we sat down to drink in the varied beauties of this intoxicating and enchanting scene."

I almost said it was 12 days from SF, but I wasn't sure. So I think 12 is the right number, with 4 days just from Mariposa to Yosemite Valley.
https://www.yosemite.ca.us/library/california_for_waterfalls.html

> King's Highway

Before the steam engine and railroads it was quite literally a 3 mile per hour world.  And that was not so very long ago.

It took a while for us to build infrastructure for ICE automobiles.  But the coming of the automobile put the pressure on to start paving roads and highways.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lincoln_Highway

1919 Motor Convoy

QuoteThe 1919 Motor Transport Corps convoy was a "Truck Train"[23] of the US Army Motor Transport Corps that drove over 3,000 mi (4,800 km) from Washington, D.C. (departing July 7 and arriving September 6), to Oakland, California, and ferried to San Francisco. In addition to 230 road incidents[24] (stops for adjustments, extrications, breakdowns, & accidents) resulting in 9 vehicles retiring,[25] the convoy of "24 expeditionary officers, 15 War Department staff observation officers (e.g., Bvt Lt Col Dwight D. Eisenhower of the Tank Corps), and 258 enlisted men" had 21 injured en route who did not complete the trip

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transcontinental_Motor_Convoy

>> 3 mile per hour world

If you divide the miles that the average family car travels by the hours of work it takes to pay for said vehicle, plus its fuel, maintenance, insurance, etc; we're still surprisingly close to three miles per hour.

>3 mph
>King's Highway

The problem along the coast -particularly south of Richmond VA- was/is the massive estuary systems.  There's a reason NC still has North America's 2nd-largest ferry system.  One ferry just south of me takes over an hour in transit just crossing a river, not island-hopping (2.5 hrs). 

Just east of me:
Crossing the (narrow end) Albemarle Sound by way of Mackey's Ferry in the 18th century usually took the better part of a day. This sail-powered vessel was totally dependent upon suitable weather and favorable winds. There were times when inclement weather would delay the crossing for 24 hours or more. It was not until the early 19th century and the coming of steam power that a dependable ferry schedule could maintained.

>railroads
In 1899, Norfolk-Southern replaced the Mackey's two-car barges with the twin side-wheelers iron train ferry John W. Garrett. The Garrett was a magnificent vessel and by far the largest and longest to ever enter Kendrick Creek. It had a 41-foot beam and a length of 351 feet

In 1910 the Norfolk-Southern Railroad completed construction of its 28,000-foot bridge across Albemarle Sound. This magnificent structure cost one million dollars to build and was the longest continuous railway bridge in the world.

A good read:
Mackeys Community, NC
https://gowildnc.com/Community-Mackeys.aspx

Quote from: buckworks on October 21, 2022, 01:00:13 PM
If you divide the miles that the average family car travels by the hours of work it takes to pay for said vehicle, plus its fuel, maintenance, insurance, etc; we're still surprisingly close to three miles per hour.

Funny you should put it that way, because that is sort of the way I have coneptualized this. I keep asking: "Is it important to go the maximum speed possible, or should we just plan to take an extra day off work and go slower on our long drives?"

There is a lot to recommend the second strategy. There is more to life than increasing its speed, afterall.