VAN BUREN, Ark. — Several people made long road trips to the path of totality on April 8. While some people hit the gas station on their way back home, quite a few electric vehicle owners had to wait a while before they could charge up and leave.
Around 40 electric vehicles waited in line to recharge in Van Buren around 6:30 p.m. on Monday.
The vehicles were waiting to use the charging stations at Casey's General Store at 500 Pointer Trail. There were only six charging ports for the nearly 40 cars waiting in line.
Crystal Evans who road-tripped from Utah to Morrilton for the eclipse said she waited nearly two hours to charge her car.
"It is kind of frustrating," she said. "My husband sent a thing to Tesla saying we need more superchargers."
Although the demand for charging stations grows, they are still far and few.
"On the app, it told me an extended wait, so then I knew that all these people were going to be here because they all came from the eclipse. It was just one of those big demands and rush," Evans said. "It does suck because I waited like about an hour, but it's understandable given the new technology."
However, Evans said the hiccup became an icebreaker to meet other travelers.
"Talk to the other people that are behind to find out where they're from and everything, so it's great because it's like a community and you can get to know other people from other places," Crystal said.
Christopher Armand drove from Tulsa to Russellville. He says the technology of the electric vehicles strategizes where the driver needs to stop next for a charge and how long they need to be on the charger.
"Depending on your trip, the car will tell you, you go to a charger and you only need 15 minutes here, then you go drive to your next destination and maybe 15 minutes there also," he said. "It would just break it up. The car does it automatically."
Even though these EV owners watched everyone else quickly gas up and leave, they say some luxuries come with these kinds of cars.
"I don't use the self-driving, it kind of scares me still a little bit, to be honest, but my husband will do it and it's nice because he doesn't get as tired and his eyes don't get as strained," Evans said.
Watch 5NEWS on YouTube.
Download the 5NEWS app on your smartphone:
Stream 5NEWS 24/7 on the 5+ app: How to watch the 5+ app on your streaming device
To report a typo or grammatical error, please email KFSMDigitalTeam@tegna.com and detail which story you're referring to.