All looked good for the final push to my destination. By driving during daytime with reasonable temperatures, not using the heat or air conditioning, driving at about 45 mph and smartly, I should easily be able to cover the 209 miles ahead while leaving a reasonable reserve.

Tesla’s navigation feature suggested that I would arrive at destination with 10% (about 24 miles) of my energy remaining. I intended to drive much more conservatively than this.

And the scenery? All I can say is the further North I traveled this day, the better it became. Mountains sported glaciers reaching down from their summits, and vegetation was thick and green, a perfect hiding place for bears.

As you can see from the image above (click on any image to see in full resolution), as I progressed towards Hyder, Alaska, with my conservative driving techniques, the expected reserve at destination had grown from 10% to 17%. I am more interested in the trend than the numbers themselves, and as long as I am growing or at least maintaining my reserve, I know my energy will be sufficient. Ultimately, I finished the trip with more than 22% of total energy.

This drive had become the reward for the long hours of charging and all the effort to learn the fine points of off-network driving with a Tesla Model S. My energy was good, the road remained paved and with light traffic, the the scenery just became more fabulous with every mile.

I noticed something odd about the cattle grazing beside the road up here. They were quite muscular and had claws!

Turning the corner for the final stretch towards Stewart, Canada, and Hyder, Alaska, (towns separated by less than a mile), I pretty much had the road to myself with lots of energy in the battery left and stunning sights everywhere.

Check out the glaciers coming down from these mountains

Then I came across Bear Glacier, which flowed right down into the lake across from the highway

Streams cascaded down the mountainsides

After a drive lasting more than 4 hours, I pulled into sleepy Stewart, Canada, just a mile short of my destination, Hyder. The charging, camping, and dining opportunities looked better here than in Hyder, and I decided to spend the night. What a delightful drive this had been!