Redundancy
We pulled our pop up trailer to Comalar Park at Lake Evergreen outside of Bloomington, IL. This is about 40 miles from home, and involved both highway and country roads. The Metris did a great job towing. It had the strength to power up the river bluffs without hesitation. We picked a spot, leveled and popped the camper. Ah - two king beds, a couch, a dinette, an indoor kitchen, fans and an A/C unit if we needed it (we didn't). I will admit it. I'm spoiled. I suddenly realized how much I had missed all of this.
But I also realize what a weird redundancy it was, pulling our camper with our camper van. It hadn't really dawned on me that when we are pulling the camper with the Metris, all of the stuff I had packed in the Metris would be available for use in the camper, but not the other way around. I had actually taken quite a bit out of the camper to stock the van, like the griddle to use on the propane stove, the cooking grate to use over an open fire, the cone filter holder for pour over coffee, etc... it was strange going back and forth between the two. But there were also quite a few items that now we have sets of - like tea kettles, 10" fans, and awning lights. It really seemed quite excessive.
Remember that our Metris is a replacement for our 2000 VW Eurovan. It had a bench that made a bed, a table in the middle with rear facing jump seats, and was able to tow our 3000+ lb camper pretty much anywhere in the Midwest. We used it more as a rolling living room than we did a dining or bedroom. It was our vacation mobile for so many trips and we were happiest when there was sand in the carpet! So using the Metris the same way seems normal to us.
Also, we are not strangers to hard core basic camping. For our honeymoon we bicycle camped for three weeks on the West Coast of Ireland with only the gear we could carry on our old school non-electric touring bikes. But that was 30+ years ago. We’ve done our share of tent camping, and have gradually moved up to towing the box along behind us. It’s hard to go back!
On Sunday, we paddled a canoe around the lake for an hour, and then drove into Bloomington for lunch. Not much was happening in town, so we hit the zoo.
Then we went back to Comalra to break down camp and head home. It does take quite a bit more effort to break down our set up with the camper. We were done in about 45 minutes. Because the trailer was riding a bit high in front, we lowered the hitch an inch. We had to laugh, because roosters have been a bit of a trend in our camping experiences this summer, since we picked up the Metris. Well, at this campground the roosters were replaced by Jamaica and Zeke - the tropical birds at the neighboring campsite. They made quite a ruckus while we were packing up.
We got home late Sunday evening, parked the trailer and unhitched. It was a success, and meant now we could use our vacation time for a week long camping trip back to Michigan. We have been longing for that trip. Michigan has been a regular vacation destination for our family, but lately life has been complicated, and we've been unable to get back there. We will tow the trailer and set it up as "home base." It won't be quite the same without the VW, but we have at least one overnight planned using the Metris. I admit, it is a strange way to do things; both luxurious and redundant. But now we have more flexibility than we have had in the past. The Metris will be our short hop, weekender solution - but I am not quite ready to give up all of the comfort our trailer offers for a full week away from home. Maybe in the future, though...
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