Here's the story of when I took a Tesla Model S on a road trip - and almost ran out of electric charge

Last year, I drove one of my kids to camp in a BMW i3, an extended-range electric vehicle that at the time was rumored to be a basis for the Apple Car.

The trip went great, so I decided to make our annual camp sojourn to the scenic Catskills in upstate New York a regular EV-paloooza. And what better car to serve as our futuristic chariot this year than ... the Tesla Model S?

And not just any Model S, but a P90D with Ludicrous Mode: at the time, the baddest, fastest, coolest Tesla in all the land (the new P100D has surpassed it).

The idea was to see if this four-door luxury "family car" with supercar-beating acceleration - 0-60 mph in 2.8 seconds, claimed - could handle a journey of decent length (about 240 miles round trip) involving two adults, three kids, and the gear of a pair of campers for two weeks.

Quite a test, eh? And with a few scheduled stops to dine, take in the sights - and recharge the battery.

All initially went according to plan

Until it didn't.

Read on to learn what happened: