Looking Back on Going All EV Two Years Later

2022 Hyundai Ioniq 5 and 2023 Nissan Ariya-both fueled by Nevada sunshine off our solar panels

We were on a road trip recently and realized that we were near our car’s anniversaries, which led us to reflect on what we think of them after 2 years with the Ioniq and 1 year with the Ariya (preceded by 4 years with the Nissan Leaf). We still love our cars and are thrilled to be driving all-electric vehicles, which are charged off the solar panels on our roof (unless we are charging on the road). Neither of us miss going to gas stations! Both cars are comfortable, fun to drive, have solid safety features, handle well in the snow, offer tons of cargo space, and look really cool! They offer all the features that we like in our cars, though we have found that each car has its advantages in certain areas.

You can look at the past posts in the Driving EV’s theme to see more about the features of our cars and why we chose them, plus what it’s like to go on road trips. Bottom line on road trips is that they work just as well for us as a gas car and we haven’t had any significant problems with charging them. We occasionally have to wait a few minutes for a charger and have had a few minor problems with charging, but never have we been seriously inconvenienced. I should mention that we tend to travel at off times, so we are charging usually in mid-morning/mid-afternoon on weekdays. We have learned that our range for how long we can sit in a car is shorter than the cars’ range before needing a charge! One positive is that it does take a little longer to charge an EV than to get gas, so we walk more, which has actually made road trips healthier for us.

The vast majority of our driving is done around the Reno area and we charge on a Level 2 charger in our garage. Our cable is long enough to reach both cars and we’ve not had any problems with coordinating our charges. Most of our driving is done solo or just the two of us, but occasionally we take others with us. We find that our passengers are comfortable in the back and we’ve spent some time there too. Generally, people prefer the Ioniq’s more spacious back seats that also recline slightly. But the HVAC system is better in the back of the Ariya. I am my mom’s primary driver and she really likes the adjustable passenger seat in the Ioniq. (The Ariya also has that feature.)

Scott still prefers his Ariya and I prefer my Ioniq, so we know we made the right choices! However, we’ve both decided that the Ioniq is the better road car. The driver assist system is superior for mountain driving in the Ioniq and it can take a faster charge while on the road. It also has the more comfortable and cushy ride. But the Ariya is no slouch and is a better choice if we are planning any off roading or need higher clearance. We tend to take the Ariya on shorter, local road trips within a 150-mile radius, and the Ioniq on our longer highway trips over mountain passes.

Service Experiences

We have been pleased with the service through our local Hyundai and Nissan dealers for both cars. We have knowledgeable service techs who have been able to keep our cars running smoothly. We are still on free service for one more year with both cars (3 years with Hyundai and 2 with Nissan). The Ioniq came with the longer service period and longer warranty (5 vs. 3 years). So far the Ioniq has been serviced 7 times in 2 years–4 for recalls/repairs and 3 for regular 5,000-mile services. I expected that there would be recalls and repairs given that this is Hyundai’s first Ioniq EV to come out. Most of the work involves updates to the car’s software systems. I have had problems with a noisy rear hatch, which has been remedied with a cushioning system. I’ve also had problems with the ICCU that controls the 12-volt battery charging system. Recently, my 12-volt battery died and the car had to be towed to the dealer for a recall repair and a new battery. They had it back to me by the next day and offered me a loaner car, but I didn’t need it. I must say it was fascinating to watch the car being towed using a very clever dolly system, which simply lifted it up and carried it off out of my mother’s garage (good place for it to happen!). I also had problems with the car turning off the Level 2 charger due to an overly sensitive heat sensor, fortunately we found a fix for that and it never recurred. Regular services are easy on EV’s and I usually have the car back in a few hours.

Scott has only had to take the Ariya in for one recall for an over-active sensor that could have caused the car to stop suddenly. It was a software update and fortunately it was done before any sudden stops! He recently had his first regular service at 7500 miles and all they did was check the car and rotate the tires.

Would We Do It Again?

Rhonda–Absolutely! I love my Ioniq 5! Still my favorite car I’ve ever driven and I hope she’ll be with me for a long time. I’m also the primary driver for my mother, so I’m glad that my multiple trips across Reno are emissions free and powered by Nevada sunshine.

Scott–If I was making the purchase decision now, I’d buy a Prius Prime Plug-In. I like the looks of this car and it is the greenest car produced in 2024, because of its smaller battery (less heavy metal mining). Given that I’m just driving it around town, I’d probably never use gas. I really like the Ariya and I have no issues with range anxiety, but my main goal was to reduce my carbon footprint, so the Prius Prime would be a better choice today. Plus, it is less expensive with an MSRP of $39,000 for a Premium trim level. This combo would make sense for us as a retired couple-no need to have 2 larger AWD EV’s. However, if I was single and this was my only car, I’d stick with the Ariya for its AWD and cargo space.

R&S–We have loved going all EV and utilizing the benefits of the solar we produce to power our transportation needs. It feels great knowing we no longer emit carbon when we’re driving!

Acceptance

God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference. AA Serenity Prayer

Last year Spirit worked with me on cultivating joy; this year I am led to work on cultivating peace. When I am not at peace, I can’t access my joy. You may recall from my blog on The Book of Joy (https://www.renofriends.org/cultivating-joy/), that one of the pillars is Acceptance. In this blog, I will explore Acceptance through the lens of the AA Serenity Prayer.

The Wisdom to Know the Difference

In my experience, this is actually the first step to serenity. I used to charge into a situation and start doing something, believing that taking action was the most important thing to do. Quakerism has helped me learn to step back, observe, season, sit in silence and seek guidance. Discernment takes time and when I’m overwhelmed and just want a problem solved, I can rush the process and make a bigger mess. If I don’t take time, I can easily take on something that isn’t mine to do or step on someone’s toes who was doing just fine before I came along!

Patience is a word that comes to mind here. It’s important that we be patient and take our time when choosing our words and actions. We can forget how powerful they are. I still have a lot to learn. Being aware of this, I try to ask for time to consider the best course of action from a variety of perspectives, including the “God’s eyes” perspective Desmond Tutu recommends.

I’ve also learned that emotional detachment is essential for me to be able to see a situation from a variety of perspectives. If I am too attached to my way of viewing things and the solution I favor, I can miss important aspects that others see more clearly. When we collaborate from a place of equality, we are more likely to contribute to transformative change.

I am learning that sometimes the most powerful choice is to be still and not act, but allow things to unfold, trusting that if there is something I am led to contribute, it will become clear. Sometimes the most helpful action is non-action and holding someone in the Light, trusting they will be guided and find their way.

The Courage to Change the Things I Can

The next step for me is to assess my Light. Do I have the time, energy and resources to take on what I’ve identified I might help with? As I get older, this becomes more of an issue for me. I must prioritize what I can engage with and what I must leave for others to shine their Light on.

I do recall when I was younger that I lacked courage because I lacked confidence and was afraid of making a mistake. I think these things can hold many of us back from engaging in transformative work. Another aspect of this that I have struggled with is feeling overwhelmed by the magnitude of a situation and then becoming paralyzed. With this block, it helps to take one small step at a time.

The Dalai Lama says that he believes much of our stress is caused by having too high expectations. When my expectations are too high, it can lead to exhaustion and despair. Lately, I’ve been working on adjusting my expectations and I find that does help. I can celebrate the small successes and keep on going without burning out.

The Dalai Lama also encourages us not to be attached to the outcome of our efforts as this also causes stress and frustration. Lao Tzu agrees with him recommending that we give ourselves fully to an action that flows through us and then let go and let the Tao do its work. I remind myself that I cannot see the bigger picture or understand the Mystery and I may never know the ultimate effect of my efforts.

Another skill I have found invaluable is the ability to set clear boundaries with compassion. It is hard to disappoint others and tell them “no” when they ask for our help. I recall reading a chapter in a book by life coach, Cheryl Richardson, entitled “Let me Disappoint You.” She gave wonderful advice on how to sensitively let down others by attending to their feelings, clearly stating our own limits and what we can do, and then offering some options for other resources.

Accepting What I Cannot Change

This final step is the most challenging for me personally. I was raised to be a perfectionist, trained to look at what was awry and get busy fixing it. Accepting something that I thought needed to be changed seemed wrong and lazy. I’ve learned that sometimes things are fine just the way they are and it’s only my judgment that needs changing. Everyone has their own journey, and the world has its own journey, affected by our collective consciousness. We are responsible for our journey and our contributions to others and to the collective, but we are not responsible for others or for the state of the world.

Along the way, I realized that I must first accept a situation, become “fierce with reality”, before I can do transformative work. We must break through our denial and our attachments to what we wish was happening. To develop a clear picture, it helps to listen deeply to others and pay attention to what is going on beneath the surface with a compassionate and open heart and mind.

There are many situations in our lives and in the world that we cannot personally change, or that we can only contribute a small piece to improving. Then we must step back and let it be, trusting that there’s a greater Mystery at work that we don’t understand. We can cultivate serenity, kindness, joy and hope in our own hearts and radiate that out to others and the world around us. This is more helpful than fretting about what we cannot change or getting lost in fear, stress and despair. We can embody the change we would like to see in the world and let our lives speak. Never underestimate how powerful that can be!

Queries:

Which aspect(s) of the Serenity Prayer are the most challenging for you?

What have you learned along the way that has helped you be more accepting of reality and those around you? What do you still need to work on?

How do you decide what to change and then what do you do? Is your process working or do you need to make changes?

Our Mini-Split

Last summer we bought a DIY Perfect Aire 12,000 BTU mini-split which Scott installed in June in our bedroom. We used to be able to keep our windows open at night and not use A/C in the summer, but then the traffic and drag racing on McCarran (the ring road near our house) got so loud we had to close our windows and use the main A/C unit to stay cool. This resulted in our using about 750 kWh more electricity in the summer months, plus we could still hear some of the really loud cars through the closed window! We decided to try a mini-split heat pump system for just our bedroom and see if it would keep us cool and provide some soft, white noise.

Success! We are happy to report that we stayed nice and cool during the heat of the summer and couldn’t hear the McCarran Motor Speedway! We also saved 500 kWh of electricity due to the efficiency of this little mini-split and not having to use our main A/C unit at night. And it’s cute!

Mini-splits are heat pumps and here’s how they work:

Installation

Scott found the Perfect Aire very easy to install and just needed a little help from an electrician friend to hook it up to our electrical panel. Here’ s some photos of the installation process:

Installing the bracket that holds the unit in place.
Fishing the line sets through the walls. The condenser is around the corner on the side of the house. The bottom line set was pulled through the crawl space under the house.
Connecting the line sets.
The finished look with the line set cover installed.
The condenser unit on the side of the house.
Video of the mini-split in action. You may have to turn up the sound to hear it, it’s so quiet! It does provide the soft, white noise we were wanting.
Heat pump alley–mini-split condenser in the foreground and the Trane heat pump in the background behind the wheelbarrow. We’re happy we can place all our condensers out of site on the side of the house.

We use the Trane to air condition the house during the day (77 degrees) and the mini-split to cool our bedroom at night. To accomplish this, we turn the Trane’s thermostat up to 82 degrees at night and crack our bedroom door so we can keep the cool in our bedroom. Then we set the mini-split to 77 degrees. The Trane never comes on at night anymore, which is what saves the 500 kWh of electricity. There’s no need to cool the whole house when we are only in one room. We are finding that using zone cooling and heating is saving both electricity and gas.

Cost

Because it was a Do-It-Yourself installation with help from an electrician friend of Scott’s, it was not that expensive. We were happy to get a 30% federal tax credit for installing this energy efficient unit!

Xeriscaping Our Yard-The Journey from 2013-2023

When I moved in with Scott in 2013, we decided we wanted to make our home as environmentally friendly as possible, which included reducing our water usage. Reno is in the high desert and has hot summers with highs often in the 90 to 100-degree range, making water a precious resource. Scott had lived in the house for 14 years before I arrived and had already done some xeriscaping in the front yard, but still had a small lawn. We quickly decided our first project was going to be taking out the south-facing front lawn. Keeping it green was an exercise in futility and wasted a lot of water. This was the first step on our journey to reduce our water use and make our yard easier to maintain. What follows is a summary of our decade-long adventure in xeriscaping!

Front Yard

Here’s our front yard in June 2013:

You can see it was already getting dry and was a bit unkempt and in need of some love.

This is our front yard in June of 2023:

The plum trees have grown over the last 10 years and now shade the plants beneath them, so we are changing plants to more shade-loving species. We took out the invasive Russian Sage.
From this angle, you can see that we removed the maple tree to the left of the locust and the pine tree next to the house, behind the locust. They were either too close to other trees, the house, shading our solar panels, or threatening our sewer line. Then we planted flowers and shrubs where they had been. We took the Russian Sage out of this area and planted a shrub, echinacea and poppies. We removed the Scotch Broom that was under the bay window. It had become overgrown and collapsed during 2022’s heavy winter snows.

We took out the lawn and replaced it with decomposed granite (DG). We also added pots for flowers on each side of the front steps.

Here are some August photos of the front yard:

Aren’t the Black-Eyed Susans and Correopsis glorious? The tall grasses outdid themselves with all the winter and spring moisture.
We added a meditating frog and shasta daisies this year, looking forward to watching them fill in! We will add more flowers to this area where the Scotch Broom used to be in the upcoming summer season.

Back Yard

This is our back yard in June of 2013:

We had a small concrete patio and lots of lawn. There were aspen trees by the back fence and a large elm on the metal fence to the left of Scott. These trees were all removed over the years. The aspens were trying to grow a grove in our neighbor’s and our yard, and the elm was pushing the metal fence over.
Our concrete patio with our grill, outdoor tables and container garden (tomatoes, flowers, and basil). Clearly it was a real squeeze!
Looking to the west, there are raised wooden beds (behind Scott) and more containers, plus a dwarf willow that got out of hand. The locust tree to Scott’s right was still a baby.

This is our back yard in June of 2023:

In 2015 we took out part of the lawn and put in pavers and in 2022 we expanded the pavers, removed the lawn and put DG in the east side. We added patio furniture, a fountain, more containers of flowers, bird baths and other yard art. Now we have a large area for entertaining and it is much easier to maintain.
Here is the view back to the west showing the DG with custom concrete stepping stones made for us by a friend. We have planted shrubs, decorative grass, and flowers in the corners. There’s an ash tree in the center flanked by metal Kokopellis, and the tomato plants are to the right in the orange containers. Scott is relieved to no longer have to mow and fertilize the lawn!
Along the west fence we added a DG area and planted this beautiful Japanese Maple. I’d always wanted one and it loves this spot under the neighbor’s maple tree. All the old wooden raised beds and the dwarf willow were removed, now we have more containers in this area with herbs and succulents.
This is our beautiful coral honeysuckle along the north fence flanked by a succulent and decorative rock. We planted marigolds in the box planters that we replaced with begonias in late August. Our grill is now just to the left of the succulent. It’s better having it away from the house.
This shows the DG area and the east fence, the ash tree in the center and tomato boxes to the left.

The best way to really see the yard is through videos. You can click this link to go to our Google Photos album that has videos of our yard during the different seasons: Videos of Our Yard.

Water Savings

So, how did we do with our water savings? Here’s the table showing our use from our water bills:

After xeriscaping our yard, we now save 36,000 gallons of water per year! That is 35% less than what we used in 2013 trying to water our lawns! In the heat of the summer, we use about 50% less on average than we did before. Plus, we spend less time maintaining the yard now that we don’t have to fertilize and mow the lawns.

You can also see how much more we use in the six months where we are watering outdoors versus the winter months when the system is shut off and we are only using household water. Just out of curiosity, I added it up and for our household, we use about 47,000 gallons of water per year. For the landscaping, we use 20,000 gallons. So our household use is about 70% of the total and the landscaping now only takes 20%. It used to take 57,000 gallons and make up 55% of our total water use!

We love our new yard which is way more functional and beautiful than what we started with, plus it uses a lot less water, while taking less of our time to maintain (and less chemicals). We have learned that our yard is an evolving landscape, ever changing, so stay tuned as the journey continues!

Road Tripping in the Ariya

We’ve had the Ariya for about 7 months now. What a great car! We are enjoying getting to know her and wanted to share what we have learned. We’ve been on 7 road trips so far and find that the Ariya is comfortable, dependable, versatile and solid. She handles well in the snow and has higher clearance and a stiffer suspension for off-roading than the Ioniq. The downside of this is that on the highway, the ride is rougher. The Ariya has a larger battery by about 20%, so it as a longer range, which is handy if you have longer gaps between charging stations. The cargo space is a little smaller than the Ioniq, but not much.

Here’s what it looks like when we load up most of our house and go to a rental place:

Hilarious, isn’t it! As you can see it all fits easily, but blocks the rearview mirror.
Here’s the fix for that problem–the rearview mirror can be flipped into camera mode and it will use the rear camera to give you a picture of what is behind you! Pretty cool, huh? We love this feature!

Charging

The Ariya comes with the EVgo network. Scott tried for a few months to test it out at the station in Reno, but it was never operational. On the road, we have found that EVgo doesn’t have as many fast charging stations as Electrify America, and seems to have more problems with down units. We did find a 350 kW charger in Citrus Heights, CA that we used in November and it worked just as well as Electrify America. Most of the time we use the Electrify America network that we get free with the Ioniq (works for both cars). We’ve had good luck with charging overall, only having to wait a couple of times. But we don’t typically travel at busy times, so that helps. We had one recent incident where for some reason the charger and the app were not communicating and we had to use a credit card. It stopped after a few minutes and we had to restart it again, but then it worked fine. Most of the time, we are charged up and ready to go within 30 minutes. We take that time to stretch our legs, use the bathroom and check our messages; sometimes we check out other people’s EV’s!

When it comes to charging, the only thing we find irritating about the Ariya is that it locks the charger onto the car and sometimes doesn’t want to let go. You have to press lock and unlock on the FOB sometimes more than once to release the cable. It also doesn’t charge as quickly as the Ioniq, but this is compensated for by its larger battery.

Overall, we have not had any problems with charging the Ariya (or the Ioniq) especially using the Electrify America network. We are lucky to have a lot of working stations on the routes we typically drive through northern California. But, the vast majority of the time, we are driving only in the Reno area and are charging at home off our solar panels.

Range

People are always asking us about the range of our cars. That’s an interesting question. It depends on a number of factors: how low you are comfortable going before recharging the battery; your driving style (more aggressive and fast driving uses more power); load (how many passengers, cargo, pulling a trailer); road conditions (flat, downhill, uphill, in-town vs. highway); outside temperature (colder temps decrease battery performance); use of climate control (heat uses more than A/C). EV’s are a different than gas cars in that they use more power on the highway and less in town, due to regenerative braking. This can be a challenge in figuring out how far your EV can go on a road trip, because it’s going to need more power than it uses at home. In general our cars can go from 175-200 miles, leaving us about 15-20% in the battery (our comfort zone). But, here’s the truth, we can only go about 150 miles before we have to get out! So we always say, our range is 150, which is less than our car’s! We plan our road trips around our needs, not the cars.

NOTE: The range quoted by manufacturers includes a mix of city and highway driving, so it will always be higher than you can actually go on a road trip. The EPA estimated combined range on our Ariya is 267 miles. But that would be draining the battery to 0%, which no sane person would ever do! Remember the 267 includes some city driving, so our 200 mile estimate in the table below is more accurate, leaving about 20% in the battery when you reach your destination. This is important if you have any question about finding a charger.

We have found it helpful to keep a road trip charging log so we can figure out how many miles we can actually go per % charge we have in the battery. Here’s the Ariya’s log so far for its first year:

At the top of the log, you will see that we have built a table based on the Ariya’s average miles per % in the battery (2.5%/mile), so we know how much of a charge we need to go a certain distance. This is a very helpful thing to know and can be difficult to figure out unless you have a log like this to tell you your average miles per %. For some reason, EV’s show you the mile per kWh which doesn’t really help you on the road. We have noticed that when we are going uphill in cold weather, we use about 25% more energy, so we need more of a charge to pull mountain passes, especially when it’s cold (see Citrus Hts-Reno and Vacaville-Truckee).

You can also see the difference between what it costs to charge the car with electricity vs. what the comparable ICE (Nissan Murano) would have cost in gas. In the three trips where we tracked this difference, there was over $200 savings! (NOTE: We actually didn’t pay for this charging, since we still have free charging for our cars. The only exception was when we had to pay by credit card in Truckee in January.)

Using Highway Driving Assist Systems

The highway driving assist system in the Ariya (ProPILOT 2.0) does a great job on regular highways of lane-keeping, lane changing, smart cruise control (adjusts speed to car in front of you), and allowing some moments of handfree driving (great for stretching your hands and wrists to prevent fatigue). It won’t let you keep your hands off for too long before it alerts you. The Ariya also watches to make sure your eyes are on the road and will alert you when your attention wanders. The Ioniq doesn’t have this feature, but does have all the other features in its HDA 2 system. What we prefer in the Ioniq is that it allows us better control on curvy mountain roads, like I-80. The Ariya tends to slow down, sometimes drastically, going into a curve and we have not been successful in finding a setting that will turn off this feature. The Ioniq does allow us to change this setting so it doesn’t do automatic braking going into a curve, allowing us to control the speed more fluidly. Because of this issue, we have given up on using ProPILOT in the Ariya while driving on mountain roads. Unfortunately, most of our long road trips include this kind of driving.

Future Road Trips

After 7 months with the Ariya and 18 months with the Ioniq, we decided we prefer the Ioniq for longer road trips, particularly those involving mountain passes. The Ioniq has the smoother ride and the better highway driving assist system, plus it charges faster. The Ariya we use for trips around our local area, like going to Graeagle, Lake Tahoe, Carson and Topaz. If we had a trip where we were planning more off-roading, we would definitely take the Ariya. We would also use it for a trip where we had more gaps between charging stations and needed the longer range. Scott prefers the seating and cabin in his Ariya for everyday use, but on a longer road trip he’s decided he would take the Ioniq. Both cars are a great drive overall and we recommend them to anyone interested in owning a quality EV SUV.

The Ariya Completes the Mother of All Road Trips!

An EV adventure couple just completed their Pole-to-Pole road trip in a modified Nissan Ariya! Yes, that is from the North to the South Pole–a trip of over 30,000 kilometers! Read about it here:

https://www.thenissannext.com/en/PoletoPole.html

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2024/01/15/electric-car-north-to-south-pole-drive/

Or watch the video:

Cultivating Joy

This is the second of my blogs on The Book of Joy by The Dalai Lama and Desmond Tutu. The first was essentially a book review–https://rhondaashurst.com/2023/06/03/the-book-of-joy/. This second blog is about my experiences of cultivating joy using the practices in the book over the last six months.

As often happens in life, I’ve been given an interesting opportunity to work with moving from suffering back into joy over the last week while I was contemplating this blog post. I finally got Covid! Of course, it picked an incredibly bad week to visit me. I was facilitating the last Quakerism 101 class on Tuesday night, Wednesday morning was my Embodying the Light class, Thursday was a performance at UNR I wanted to see, and Saturday I was to clerk a memorial for a dear friend and attender at the Meeting House. I had also inadvertently exposed a lot of people to the virus, including the Meeting during Sunday Worship and my 88-year-old mother.

I remember staring at the positive result and immediately crying out, “NO!!! This can’t be happening! Not this week!” Then I was mortified that I may have given it to a lot of other people. Quickly my head began running away with me down a rapidly descending spiral of catastrophic thinking. When Scott got home and I shared it with him, he met it with his usual “darn the luck” calm and reminded me that this too shall pass. I so appreciate his steadiness in moments like this. It helped me to get a grip and start figuring out logistics. A Quaker Friend encouraged me to read the practice on Acceptance in the book.

I sat down and did the meditation, coming into the present moment and following my breath. Then I brought into my mind my difficulty in accepting my current Covid situation. As instructed, I reminded myself this is the nature of reality, and this is what is happening right now. I breathed into my heart and felt all the disappointment and fear. I cried a little, gave myself a hug, and told myself it would be ok. Then I asked myself what I needed to do to meet the situation in a positive and helpful way. A list began to form in my mind, so I got a piece of paper and wrote what came to me. By the time I finished the practice, I had an action list of decisions to be made and people to call for help. I felt empowered rather than overwhelmed and helpless.

As I worked my way down the list, I was met over and over by helpful and caring responses of friends and family. So many people stepped up to take on the tasks I could not and expressed their concern and good wishes for my speedy recovery. By the time I was done, I had tears again, this time of gratitude and joy. I felt so very loved and comforted. I thought, how lucky I am to have so many caring and wonderful people sharing my life! This feeling stayed with me all week as people brought food, ran needed errands, called, texted and phoned to check on me. Everything I was worried about was taken care of or rescheduled. The memorial was wonderful by all accounts and others had the opportunity to shine their ample Light and skills on the day. Of course, I was sad again that I didn’t get to go, but I’ve found joy in experiencing it through the eyes of those who were there.

This week of not feeling well and being isolated brought to mind so many of the joys of my normal, healthy life: energy, freedom from pain, hugging my honey and being near him, the company of others, clear sinuses, the ability to taste and smell, a clear head, good digestion, strength, freedom to come and go as I please, sharing food, silent Worship, physical activity, dancing, and the list goes on! It was a powerful exercise in appreciating what you normally have when it’s gone. There is so much I take for granted.

As I move back into health, I hope I will remember the valuable lessons I’ve learned from my Covid experience. This has definitely been my most challenging test since reading the book, but I know more will come. In general, I’m finding that I spend more time in joy and appreciation of the present moment, and less time stressing needlessly over long to-do lists or things that are out of my control. Looking back on these last 6 months, I see that I’ve been easier on myself and taken things as they come. I see more clearly what is really important and what is not. I’m more ok with being a messy, imperfect human and I can laugh more easily at my foibles. When I have struggles with suffering, I try to remember to go to the practices and find one that is relevant to the situation and work it. For my struggle with the suffering of others, I’ve found the Tonglen practice helpful—breathing into my heart their pain and suffering and offering out joy, love, Light, peace, courage and strength. I’ve discovered my heart is big enough to hold a lot of suffering with love and compassion.

What a treasure this book has been to me! I’ve resolved to keep it near as I travel down the roads of my life. It’s a valuable map and I’m ever grateful it found its way to me. It turned what I saw as a Covid tragedy into a Covid gift.

Goodbye to Our Nissan LEAF

We traded in our sweet 2016 Nissan LEAF for Scott’s new Nissan Ariya in June after over four years of service. BeeBee, as we called her, was such a cute car and the perfect introduction to driving EV’s. It’s always bittersweet and nostalgic to look back on the life of an old car that’s moved on.

When we bought her used in 2019, we had just installed solar panels and realized how much excess electricity we were producing. We decided it was time to take the plunge and buy an EV. We’d just bought a Toyota Highlander Hybrid for Scott to replace his old 4 Runner, so we didn’t want to spend a lot of money. As luck would have it, 2016-17 LEAF’s coming off leases were incredibly cheap at the time. We saved $6,500 buying her over what it would have cost to buy a 2016 Nissan Juke in 2019 (the comparable gas car to the LEAF). Nissan had released the next generation battery with over 150 miles range and no one wanted the old technology anymore. She only had 23,000 miles on her and was in great condition with all 10 bars of her battery life remaining. In the beginning, she could go over 100 miles on a charge.

We fell in love with her zippy speed and cozy interior. We especially loved the heated seats and steering wheel in the winter. She was mostly my car, though we often shared her to save on gas in the Highlander. She was a very reliable car and an easy keeper. We saved a lot of money on repairs and maintenance over my old Subaru Forester, not to mention all the gas savings (see below).

This year her battery lost another bar, down to 7 out of 10 and her range was closer to 80 miles (60 realistically). Scott was needing a car that could go out of the valley if necessary, so it was time to move BeeBee along to a new home. Nissan gave us a good trade-in price for her and one of the employees there ended up buying her. We hope she’ll introduce a new family to the joys of driving EV’s.

Thank you BeeBee for 4 years of fun zipping around town in you, and for helping us get over the EV hump! We’ll miss you!

For the first half of 2023, we drove 1944 miles in the LEAF and saved $318 in gas over what the Juke would have used.

Over the course of her 4+ years with us, BeeBee saved us over $10,000! That’s pretty awesome when you think about it. $6,400 of that savings was from not paying for gas and in the savings of repairs and maintenance over what it would have cost for the comparable gas car. We also saved a lot of money on buying the LEAF ($6,500 over the Juke in 2019), but we gave some of it back on the trade-in ($2,500 less than the Juke in 2023). Still our total savings purchasing the LEAF was $4,000 over the Juke. We also saved about 18,000 tons of carbon from entering the atmosphere by driving the LEAF instead of the Juke.

If you’re thinking about trying an EV, going with an older model that still has life in it is a smart move. As technology moves on, they sell at discounts and then they save you a bunch of money too, not to mention the carbon you don’t put in the atmosphere.

Scott’s Ariya Arrived!

A dream comes true–two kickass EV’s to go with our solar panels!

It was June 8th in the afternoon when the call came in from Nissan, “Your platinum white Ariya just arrived, want to come drive it?” Absolutely! It was our first glimpse in person of the blue Nappa leather seats with blue suede accents on the dash and doors. Wow! What a gorgeous color! We were a bit disappointed that they replaced the bronze hubcaps with grey, but we can order those later.

We hopped in and drover her up part of the Mount Rose highway. Way more power then the FWD version! The AWD e4ORCE makes a big difference and we look forward to seeing how she handles in snow. The Ariya is higher clearance by nearly 2 inches over the Ioniq. Scott loves sitting higher up and immediately set up his seat and steering wheel position just as he wanted. It’s great to have adjustments in all directions. He looked completely at home instantly. When I asked him how it felt he said, “Like the Highlander only just my size.”

We pulled into a trailhead parking area and played with buttons and features, checked out the awesome turn radius. It’s much easier to learn the Ariya after mastering the Ioniq. They have many of the same options and thoughtful, innovative design. But the Ariya is much more Scott and I found it thrilling to watch him get excited about his new car!

We went back to the dealership and said we wanted it. As always seems the case, it was not good timing as our nephew was visiting from NYC. We asked if we could wait a few days to do the paperwork. The manager at United Nissan Reno said no problem, as long as we put down a $500 deposit. When we returned home we realized that we had committed to the car at 6:30 p.m., the exact time one year ago when we last said “good night” to Scott’s father. He passed that night. Wide-eyed, we wondered if he’d pulled some magic strings for Scott to get this Ariya months before we thought it would arrive. We toasted him and said a “thank you” to his spirit.

We returned to United Nissan a few days later and completed the transaction. Everything about the process was easy and relaxed. They now have a price set by Nissan and a small margin of profit included for them. There is no negotiating, no gouging, no pressure. We traded in our 2016 Nissan LEAF and they gave us a decent price for it. It was a great little starter EV and I’m sure it will still be for its next owner.

I had originally intended for Scott to have the Inoiq for his 60th Birthday. But it wasn’t a good fit for him and he gave it to me, taking the LEAF instead. I think I always felt guilty about trading his beautiful Highlander for my Ioniq. How fitting that his Ariya, which truly does fit him better than the Highlander, should come in time for his 61st!

The Numbers

The MSRP on the Platinum Ariya is $63,715. The tradein for the LEAF was $6,500. Typically there are about 10% of additional fees and taxes (in NV) added on to the purchase.

The most comparable gas car to the Ariya is the Murano, which has an MSRP of $51,640. I wanted to do a comparison for this blog of what it would cost to own the ICE vs. the EV and I will use these numbers in my annual blogs to see how long the savings of driving the EV will take to make up the price difference. EVs are 50-65% cheaper to maintain over their lives than ICEs.

2023 Platinum Nissan Ariya

MSRP $63,715

Plus 10% fees and taxes $6,372

Total Cost: $70,087

2023 Platinum Nissan Murano

MSRP $51,640

Plus 10% fees and taxes $5,164

Total Cost: $56,804

Difference Between EV and ICE $13,283

NOTE: Sadly, the new Inflation Reduction Act removed the tax credit for the Nissan Ariya as of August 17, 2022 because final assembly is still in Japan. Nissan plans to move final assembly to the USA to qualify for the credit in 2026.

Video Tours of the Inside

Check out the beautiful blue leather interior!

Some cool features we really liked.

Cargo Area

Not as big as the Ioniq’s, but more than adequate for our needs, especially with seats down.

What Scott Loves About the Ariya

It’s solid and it has great acceleration. I don’t have to charge it all the time like the LEAF. It’s comfortable and easy to drive, not too overwhelming.

Is There Anything You Don’t Like?

I can’t think of anything, other than I wish it had a little less shiny black on the exterior.

The Book of Joy

In March I went on a retreat to Graeagle. My friend, Peggy sent along The Book of Joy by the Dalai Lama and Desmond Tutu. What an amazing teaching this book was for me during my sacred time! It was exactly what I needed. Before my retreat, I had been feeling increasingly hopeless about the future of humanity and all of our relations that share this planet with us. This is a familiar issue for me and one I’ve blogged about before.

Quickly I was absorbed into the worlds of these two great spiritual leaders who have faced grave struggles for their own lives and the lives and wellbeing of their people. They have overcome suffering beyond anything I can imagine. Yet they are joyful, funny, playful, loving and share a very close friendship with one another. I love the photos of the two of them that are scattered throughout the book. Their expressions exude the joy and spiritual radiance they have cultivated inside themselves. The Dalai Lama makes the point that no one would be inspired by their spiritual practices if they were both sourpusses! The book came out of a week together in 2015 when Desmond Tutu visited the Dalai Lama for his 80th Birthday. Together with Douglas Abrams (writer and editor) they endeavored to create The Book of Joy as a gift to humanity.

I was interested to learn that the question most readers wanted them to answer was: How could we possibly live with joy in a world filled with so much suffering? My dilemma exactly! They both find that joy can exist alongside suffering and sorrow. They point out that suffering is part of life and often brings opportunities to grow more mature emotionally and to develop compassion and practice forgiveness. The Dalai Lama offered a practice from an ancient Indian teaching: “If there’s no way to overcome tragedy, then there is no use in worrying about it. If something can be done about the situation, do it. If nothing can be done, what use is there for being dejected?” It reminds me of the Serenity Prayer.

They both share a common secret to the cultivation of a joyful life: Seek joy and happiness inside, help others, be kind and compassionate. In other words, it’s an inside out job, not the other way around. We are quick to seek our sources of happiness outside ourselves (jobs, stuff, money, romance, etc.), but the fount of lasting joy is within.

Desmond Tutu points out that joy is bigger than and includes happiness. It is not dependent on external circumstances. He encourages us to be “a reservoir of joy, an oasis of peace, a pool of serenity that can ripple out to all those around you.”

They agree the best way to do this is to reach beyond our focus on ourselves and help others, but not to the point of harming ourselves. Our compassion must include ourselves as well as others and all our relations. We are all in this together. When we are suffering, so are many others. Tutu spoke about “ubuntu”—an African concept that means we all need each other and are all connected to one another. We all want a happy life and to love and be loved.

They share a common view that people are basically good and that, as a species, we are getting better with time. We are encouraged (like the redwood trees once encouraged me on a retreat) to remember we are young and still have a lot to learn, that we are “masterpieces in the making.” Tutu reminds us it is important to see things with “God eyes” and the Dalai Lama encourages us to look at a situation from a variety of perspectives before reacting/responding. This fits with the Quaker concept of “seasoning”.

The book has two main sections on the obstacles to joy and the eight pillars of joy. At the end, there is a very helpful section of practices to develop inner, lasting joy.

The Obstacles to Joy

The obstacles include fear, stress, anxiety, frustration, anger, sadness, grief, despair, loneliness, envy, suffering, adversity, illness, and fear of death. I use this section as a reference when I am experiencing one of these states and need some help to move through it and back into peace, joy and hope. The first step is to accept the reality of suffering. However, it is also important to see that much of our suffering is created by the attitudes and thoughts we have about a situation. This is the place where we can learn to observe what is happening in our mind and choose a different path.

This part of the book is full of wisdom and insightful suggestions for how to move through the obstacles. Tutu makes the point that often we need to feel our feelings and let them flow through us, but be mindful not to get stuck in them or let them lead our responses. The Dalai Lama is more cerebral and goes straight to working with his mind as the key to lasting peace and joy. In my experience, both of them are right—it’s helpful to acknowledge and allow our feelings, but then we need to step back and use our minds, heart and intuition to determine the highest and best response.

The Eight Pillars of Joy

The eight pillars of joy are divided into the four qualities of the mind: perspective, humility, humor and acceptance, and the four qualities of the heart: forgiveness, gratitude, compassion and generosity. Through cultivating these qualities, we can live increasingly in a state of joy and share that with others.

Perspective: Try to see situations from all viewpoints and through the “eyes of God”. Your viewpoint is only one amongst many, don’t get too attached to it! Move from “I” to “we”.

Humility: We are all equal and interdependent, yet we all have our gifts to give. Give them with confidence and be humble, willing to learn and admit/correct mistakes. Encourage others to give their gifts. Know when to step back and let others shine.

Humor: The book is filled with examples of the two of them teasing and laughing with one another. Douglas, who compiled and edited the book, has come to see that humor is a hallmark of advanced spiritual development and these two have honed it to a fine art! They remind us that laughing at our shared humanity, vulnerability, foibles, and frailties helps us deal with the uncertainties and harshness of life.

Acceptance: It is important to accept reality as it is. Tutu recommends accepting what is and asking how do we make something positive of this situation? (the philosophy underpinning Truth and Reconciliation after Apartheid) The Dalai Lama encourages us to work toward a goal, vision, intention without attachment to the outcome, a primary teaching of the Buddha.

Forgiveness: Forgiveness releases our anger and hurt and allows us to move on. It doesn’t mean condoning bad behavior-sometimes we need to make a stand, set a boundary, do what is necessary to stop harm. Don’t lose sight of a person’s humanity, while responding with clarity and firmness. Decide if you want to renew or release the relationship.

Gratitude: Be grateful for the abundance of your life, see wonder in your day, savor and enjoy. You can even be grateful for people, conditions, and situations which challenge you or cause pain, as they are precious spiritual teachers.

Compassion: Move from I to we, from control to caring. When we open our hearts to others, we relax and have joy. We are wired for altruism; it is how our species has thrived. It is also important to have compassion for ourselves and to practice good self-care. Acts of compassion have a ripple effect extending to our friends, their friends and beyond.

Generosity: When we give, we receive. Giving of ourselves and fostering a sense of purpose leads to greater well-being for ourselves and others. Tutu reminds us that we are just stewards of wealth and possessions. It is a joy to give to others, a joy that comes back to us, and brings us full circle together.

In Conclusion

This book has been the gift to me that it was intended to be. I encourage you to read it and work with the practices at the end of the book. Together, we can create more joy, love, hope, and peace in a world that needs these gifts.

Here are some fun, short videos:

Interview by Douglas of The Dalai Lama and Desmond Tutu on their friendship:

CBS Sunday Morning interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mfys2mEtUqY&t=4s

Interview of Douglas Abrams who compiled the book: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MDNecvT5miA&t=121s

Taking the Ioniq into the Boonies

We like the boonies and often seek out remote getaways. On this trip we headed to a favorite spot in the Trinity Alps. We wondered what it would be like and how would charging work? We checked out one of our favorite off-the-beaten-path routes and found that it was outside our 175-mile safe range (nearly 200 miles and mostly pine trees). We decided that would give us the range willies for sure!

So, we charted out a safer route along I-80 and I-5, which have ample Electrify Americas. Along the way we stopped at Auburn Toyota and checked out a BZ4X for Scott (see this post: https://rhondaashurst.com/2023/05/09/the-search-for-our-next-ev/). We traveled 378 miles to Trinity and stopped at Auburn and Anderson to charge. With the test drive, which took at least 30 minutes and two charging stops of 30 minutes each, the trip took just over 8 hours. The nice thing about all those stops is we felt better physically when we arrived, and we also missed the afternoon rainstorm! We did stretch our range limit a bit between Auburn and Anderson (181 vs 175 miles), plus we stopped at a 95% charge at Auburn (it takes forever to get that last 5%). By the time we got to Anderson, we had only 11% left in the battery. We decided we’d charge at Dunnigan if we take this route in the future!

Photo of the Ioniq at an Electrify America Charging Station

We had permission to charge the car at our cabin, so when we arrived, we pulled out the 110-volt charger and plugged her in. It said it would take 53 hours to go from 28%-100%! Luckily, we had the time as we were staying several days.

While we were there, we took a trip up the pass on a steep and curvy road to snowshoe on the Pacific Crest Trail. What a thrill to drive up a road like that in the Ioniq! It was the first time I’d driven her up and down one of California’s crazy switchback passes and it was a scream! Smooth and effortless sailing all the way up and then coming down, I used Level 3 e-braking. I only had to brake on hairpin turns, which was amazing! The other cool thing is it took 12% of the battery to get up there and we gained 1% coming back!

Here’s a couple of photos of the road and the beautiful waterfall we stopped at:

On the way home we took a different route through Chico. Wow, was that pretty! We took I-5 to highway 99, stopping for lunch at a pretty rest stop south of Redding. We drove through farmland and orchards and arrived in Chico with 51% left in the battery. We charged for 30 minutes and strolled the nearby Chico campus—charming! We left with 97% and headed towards the foothill towns of Grass Valley and Nevada City. The drive from there through the Sierra’s is lovely. We arrived in Reno with 21% left. This will definitely be our preferred route up to Trinity in the future. It took us 7 hours with two 30 minute stops for lunch and charging. We traveled a total of 311 miles on the way home.

Here’s the road trip log:

We noticed we used more energy going up to Trinity than coming back, since there was more uphill and 67 more miles. In the future, we will stop in Chico on the way up and back to charge. If we had driven the Hyundai Tucson (gas comparison car), it would have cost us $100 in gas. Because our charging on Electrify America is free, we saved $100 taking the Ioniq! If we had to pay for our charging, it would have cost $59, so a 40% savings over the Tucson. At 20 pounds of CO2 per gallon for 23 gallons of gas, we saved 460 pounds of CO2 from entering our atmosphere by driving the EV.

We were relieved to see that you can take the Ioniq into the boonies and do just fine with finding charging, as long as you plan out your route ahead of time. We look forward to our next trip to Trinity!