Help CTTP Scout Out Places to Beat The Heat!

We recently got back from our first long Charge to the Parks trip, and it was a success. We visited three national park units along the way and learned about several more. This has enabled us to improve our Great Smoky Mountains EV travel guide, add a new travel guide for the Blue Ridge Parkway, and soon we'll be adding a guide for Hot Springs National Park in Arkansas based on first-hand knowledge.

Along the way, we shared information about a great small business in Arkansas that provides EV charging, the improving landscape for electric RV charging, and a new charging station factory in North Carolina that's going to have a big impact on EV charging reliability in the US.

Your support last month and the month before made this success possible!

But, we need to keep the momentum going in July and August, and to do that, we'll need some more help from readers, supporters, and friends. Instead of taking a long trip, the plan is to fix some weaknesses we identified on the trip and then take several shorter trips to national and state parks to verify that everything's good for a longer trip we're planning in September.

Beating The Heat

In some places, the peak of summer is the best time to camp. After a cold, cold winter and a cool spring, the peak of summer is when many places are at their most pleasant. But, there are other places where the peak of summer is about the worst place in the world for camping and other outdoor activities. Down in the deserts they say, “It’s a dry heat.”, but so is a campfire, and you don’t want to put your butt there. In the green lowlands of the eastern United States, the heat isn’t as bad, but combined with suffocating humidity and bugs, camping can be about as unpleasant.

So, July and August are often a time when people are looking to beat the heat. It can be fun to briefly visit a national park in the lowlands, but it’s a lot nicer if you can retreat into the mountains–or better yet find a park that’s already in the mountains.

During these dog days, our plan is to visit some places in the Southwest where you can beat the heat. In some cases, the park itself will be a refuge from the inferno. In others, we’ll pair a hot park with a place nearby that EV drivers can reach to get a break.

Along the way, we’ll share our experiences and use what we learn to improve our EV travel guides for the parks! By showcasing these EV-accessible places and reviewing them, we'll make it easier for people to visit a number of popular parks in their EVs!

Trips We Plan To Take

White Sands National Park and the Sacramento Rim

Saguaro National Park and Mount Lemmon

The Mogollon Rim

The Mogollon Rim isn’t a national park, but it’s a great basecamp from which to reach a number of hot Arizona parks. It’s a good match for:

The South Rim of the Grand Canyon

The South Rim's Grandview Lookout Tower

The North Rim of the Grand Canyon is cooler in the summer, but can be difficult to reach with an EV. But, there's a lesser-known spot near the South Rim that can serve as a refuge from the heat of more popular places like Grand Canyon Village, Tusayan, and Desert Lookout Tower.

Just outside of the park, the Grandview Lookout Tower is about 10 degrees cooler, which can make a big difference for camping or having a place to relax at between hotter sightseeing adventures at the Rim.

Upgrades We Need To Accomplish This

In total, all of this comes out to $4962.09

If you can help, we'd be very grateful for anything you can contribute. Whether you can help or not, it's still extremely helpful to share this fundraising drive on social media! Thanks in advance for any help you can provide!