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When you learn new languages, you can often find connections in words and ideas. Sometimes it’s wholesale incorporation of a word into the zeitgeist. Dunkelflaute is one I see more and more used in the energy world. “A Dark Lull” is the exact translation, but it intends to describe what happens when the sun isn’t shining, or the wind is blowing. The German language is beautiful; I don’t care what others say, but it is also incredibly literal. It is less flowery in its descriptors and often combines disparate words to create anew. ...

Intro If you closed your eyes tight enough and opened them without hesitation, it felt like pre-COVID a little this year. If you acclimated you’d realise it was not yet. I did over 100k miles/160k km this year (or nearly 300/482+ by Delta’s qualifying) and over 130 nights in a hotel. I am lucky enough that my family, more often than not, travels with me, but that is still a gruelling schedule. Who knows what next year brings, but it will likely be a lot of the same. ...

TL;DR Great test run with the Airstream cut short by a sick kiddo. Stats and thoughts are below! Solid headwinds and gradual climb = 1mi/kWh on the way there Downhill with light winds and modified driving habits = 1.4mi/kWh Charging networks were more than sufficient to get us there and back. The chargers were positioned so that the truck and trailer could fit. The winds were so destructive in Cadillac that a buggy took off in the Meijers parking lot and rammed the back of the Airstream…grumble grumble Ford PR reached out to try and repair our failed navigation system, but alas, nothing. We had to rely solely on Google Maps through Android Auto. The Pro Trailer system randomly forgot the Airstream after calibrating a few weeks ago and then randomly remembered it when we got home. Fun. BlueCruise worked with the trailer connected, which seems odd. It was helpful but made me nervous, given the ping-pong between lanes that BlueCruise does. I found myself turning off cruise control to avoid it engaging.                 ...

TL;DR - Towing my 23fb Airstream with the lightning basically cuts range in half.         I was able to tow the Airstream around 30 miles today and understand how the Lightning does with some weight behind it. The TL;DR is that with a 23-foot Airstream, I am seeing 0.8mi/kWh. Compared to the 1.5-1.8 I have seen on my road trips thus far without the trailer, its around 50% of the range when towing. ...

Charging networks are just as strategic as battery suppliers. Everyone who isn’t Tesla needs to focus on build-out. What we have today is not acceptable to the vast majority of consumers. Charging Network Our Tesla, when it sits for a few days, can drop significant battery capacity, so when we pulled up to Mackinaw City, I wanted to be sure we had more than the 70 miles we had. I put into the Ford’s GPS the closest high-speed charger and navigated. ...