Stopping to charge your EV on a road trip may seem an inconvenience to some, but not to us. True, charging takes longer than filling up with gasoline in a gasser. But we’ve learned to turn the longer EV refueling stop to our advantage. We get out, stretch our legs, and explore the environs. Doing so has given us a glimpse of California that we wouldn’t have seen otherwise. Our most recent trip was no exception. Especially noteworthy was our last charge stop.
In the early days we’d pack our lawn chairs and a picnic lunch for a necessarily leisurely charge session. That’s no longer necessary, but some charge stops are still off the beaten path.
We recently took a scouting trip to Asilomar State Beach & Conference Center on the Monterey Peninsula. That’s a 225-mile trip one way, necessitating one charge stop in our Chevy Bolt for each leg and one overnight charge at our destination. We prefer EVgo stations if we can find them because they’ve become so simple to use. With EVgo’s autocharge, we just roll up, plug in, and the great computer in the sky starts the charging session. No RFID cards, no smart phone app, no credit card needed. It’s the way charging was meant to be.
The route took us up the Salinas Valley where we’ve been before. (See 400 Mile EV Road Trip–without a Spreadsheet!) On the previous trip we’d stopped at the King City EVgo station. It’s right downtown in a municipal parking lot. If we’d been driving a gasser, we’d likely have just refueled right off the freeway and been on our way in no time. We like exploring California, and King City is one of those places that modern life has passed by. It’s on a rail line served by Amtrak, but the freeway bypasses the town.
So we knew where the charge station was and that there was a coffee shop and restaurants nearby. The coffee shop was closed on the Monday we were there, but a little pizza place just across the street from the parking lot was open. It was a charming little spot and we’ll stop there again in the future.
We took the scenic back way to Monterey by leaving the freeway at Greenfield, crossing the Sierra de Salinas into the Carmel Valley. It’s a fun windy road to drive and even more so in an EV.
The state park offered free level 2 charging courtesy of Rivian. We checked in and then drove right to the dispenser, plugged in, and charged overnight. The next day we had a full charge. Easy, peasy as the Brits would say.
We had to charge on the return trip too and that’s where we ventured into new territory. We’ve charged at the Electrify America station in downtown Paso Robles before. Like most EA stations, it’s in a nondescript location on a Bank of America parking lot.
We’ve also charged at San Miguel, where we explored mission San Miguel Arcángel. There’s one lone EVGateway dispenser and not much else in town. Been there, done that.
EV Charging Theme Park?
I had my sights set on a place east of Paso Robles that PlugShare users had raved about. It was easy to find, just look for the giant.
The station is identified inconspicuously as Daniels Wood Land Inc and is off the freeway in an industrial park. There are two EV Connect 50 kW dispensers. Nothing in that would prepare you for the experience of charging there. The parking lot borders a big barn-like metal building with sliding bay doors.
The giant was a welcoming metal monster that looks like something out of Hollywood. It may well have been used as a prop in some movie we hadn’t seen.
When we first pulled up to the DCFC dispensers the bay doors were open and a huge replica of the capitol dome was on dollies. Don’t see that every day. A few minutes later it disappeared inside the cavernous building.
At one end of the building the metal giant stood guarding a huge wooden portico. A door was open so I ventured inside. Once my eyes adjusted to the dim light I felt like I was on a Hollywood set. Then I noticed a metal contraption that was vaguely familiar. “I’ve seen that somewhere before,” I thought. Sure enough the plaque explained that it was used in one of the Star War’s movies. It could have been “ridden” by Luke Skywalker himself.
Yee ha, we’d stumbled upon some creative geniuses catering to theme parks—think Disney—and Hollywood science fiction all because they took the pains to install two DCFC dispensers.
The Daniels brothers, the “Daniels” of Daniels Wood Land Inc., built their reputation on wooden structures—the “Wood” part of their studio’s name, especially whimsical tree houses. Sure enough at the other end of the building was a wooden palisade like something out of “Fort Apache” of our 50’s childhood.
Here’s how they describes themselves.
We bring “your vision to life with our extraordinary wood creations. Whether you’re dreaming of a custom treehouse, a themed playground, or a one-of-a-kind piece of furniture, our team of skilled artisans is here to make it happen. . . Let’s build something amazing together!”
Daniels Wood Land Studios
Check out their YouTube channel where you can find more of their creations.
Without our need for a charge stop and our interest in out-of-the-way charge locations we would have never stumbled across such an example of the unique and fascinating people living and working in this vast state.
Put Daniels Wood Land on your next EV charging itinerary.
