Denver to Santa Barbara in a Chevy Bolt: Day 1, Littleton, Colo. to Green River, Utah

Christof Demont-Heinrich
I've never done a road trip in a Chevy Bolt before, though I have done two mid-length road trips from Denver to Santa Fe, New Mexico in my brother's Tesla Model S. The family before our departure on a 1,200-mile road trip from Littleton, Colo. to Goleta, Calif. in our all-electric Chevy Bolt, which has 238 miles of range. Here are some of my more memorable impressions after driving the first leg of a 1,200-mile trip from Denver to Santa Barbara today that I am doing with my two daughters, 13 and 11, in tow.

Denver to Santa Barbara in an all-electric Chevy Bolt — Here we go!

Christof Demont-Heinrich
So, I will be driving from Denver to Santa Barbara with my two teen-age daughters in my all-electric 2017 Chevy Bolt starting tomorrow, Tues., July 24, with a planned arrival date in Santa Barbara of Thurs., July 26. I planned the trip out using an app called PlugShare -- plugshare.com. Three days, and two nights. Normally, the 1,200- mile trip would be done in two days, but with an electric car that is not a Tesla, one must count on taking extra time for road trips, at least out here in the wide open spaces of the American West.

Free gas!

Christof Demont-Heinrich
Yes, you can fuel your car for free -- if you invest in home solar and an electric car! How? You pay upfront for your solar 'gas station', allow it to reach so-called 'solar payback' the point in time at which the money you spent on the solar system = the amount you would have paid to a utility for your electricity, a point typically reached after five to 10 years in the United States, then you've got free gas for the lifetime of your solar gas pump which = 10, 15, even 20 years.

Why a solar garden isn’t as satisfying as rooftop solar

Christof Demont-Heinrich
I had solar for nearly six years on a house in Aurora, Colo. that I lived in with my family. Life happened -- divorce, etc. -- and I no longer have the house, or the solar. A year ago, I moved into a so-called "cohousing" community, Highline Crossing Cohousing in Littleton, Colo. I moved here because cohousing is more community based than average HOAs/neighborhoods. I wanted more community, less suburban isolation and alienation.

U.S. Congress candidate Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez puts 100 percent renewables on major media map

Christof Demont-Heinrich
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a 28-year-old Latina democratic socialist from the Bronx, just beat out the longtime US representative Joe Crowley in the New York Democratic primaries. She's become a media darling since. That's great for a lot of reasons -- for more empowerment of women in American politics, more empowerment for minorities, AND more empowerment for greenies like me (and hopefully you, too).