Fall Trip 2025 Day 4
16 September 2025
The weather continues to be beautiful, if hot. This was the view when I left my hotel in Lafayette IN this morning:
And here was my route for the day:
I was on backroads the entire way and it was very relaxing, if a bit boring at times (but that’s what good audiobooks are for!). Some of those roads just do NOT curve — they are straight as an arrow for miles and miles on end.
My first stop was at a Tesla Supercharger in Dwight IL, located at a Casey’s gas station (a regional brand, nothing to write home about but fine for what you need). There were 8 chargers and none were occupied when I arrived, and I went from 51-80% in 15.5 minutes.
Because I was only a half block from historic Route 66 at this stop, I had to go take a photo of that road as well as some interesting wildflowers:
Even more interesting was the National Historic Site just another half block further, Ambler’s Texaco Gas Station. It’s worth clicking the link to read about it!
After this stop, it was a lot more of the same to Davenport IA, but along the way I was treated to the sight of a hawk flying up out of the ditch to the left of the highway carrying a large snake in its talons!
Davenport was once known as the “wickedest city in America” because of its brewery district combined with an abundance of brothels, and as it is an important stop on the Mississippi River, it’s perhaps no surprise! These days, the place is much tamer. I did pass by this beautiful stern-wheeler::
I haven’t been posting photos of my hotel rooms because a hotel is a hotel is a hotel, but tonight’s is more interesting, the Cambria Hotel in Bettendorf IA. The room layout is unique and intriguing (I didn’t get a photo of the bathroom though):
Right across the street from the hotel is a Tesla Supercharger (one of the reasons I stayed here, to be honest) and I was able to take advantage of all 12 chargers being available to charge from 33-100% in 49 minutes. Even better, there were extra spaces on both ends of the charger lineup so I was able to make this work without taking up two places!
I drove 264 miles today and got 3.9 miles/kWh, nudging my trip efficiency up to 3.8. Tomorrow, I’m on backroads again for a drive up to Rochester MN. Here’s where I am at this point in my trip:
