Out of Gas

 

I haven't had much to say about the Metris over the winter, because well... A midwest winter is just plain boring.  I can say that I fully appreciated the heated leather seats though!  We only had a little bit of snow, and the vehicle seemed to handle it fine, but it was not as solid on the stuff as our Eurovan was.  Down the road, we may consider different tires.  But with some unseasonably warm weather, and the coming of Spring, we started up our adventures earlier than usual. 

In mid February, we took a trip to Indiana to visit my Mom and brother's family.  We didn't need to sleep in the Metris, and this is a trip we have done before, so the real adventure (apparently) was to see if we could make the trip on one tank of gas.  We got to my brother's place just fine, and the next morning when headed out to visit my mom, Hubby reminded me to get gas first thing.  I had not really used the dash computer fuel consumption thing, and I tried to check it to see how many miles were left, and it didn't make a lot of sense to me.  There was nothing stating how many miles were left - because there were NONE. Concerned by the display and lack of data, and the fact that it looked like we might get stopped to wait for a train, I suggested to my brother that we get gas at the next available station, rather than at the cheapest, and it took 18.5 gallons!  According to Hubby, it has a 18 gallon tank, so I guess we were running on fumes.  I requested that we never try that experiment again! On the trip home, I learned how the dash display is supposed to work, and we filled up again somewhere towards halfway home.  

Our next adventure was a quick overnight to a nearby campground, just to get away for a bit.  Saturday afternoon was beautiful, and we picked a spot right on the lake. I procured my fishing license online, and tried out a foldable fishing rod we found when going through my Dad's stuff.  I thought it would be a fun thing to have in the Metris since it was compact and represented potential entertainment and maybe even food value.  I had stocked the package it came in with some plastic cricket bait, and a tiny tackle box.  It sorta worked.  I was able to cast, but reeling in was tough.  Sure glad I didn't get any bites.  So the verdict was maybe the "Fisherman's Friend" won't make the cut in the "use it or lose it" space saving mentality required to camp in such a small vehicle. But my fishing license is good for the whole year...  hmmm.  There was electric service, but no water yet because of freeze concerns, so I'm not sure I could have cleaned a fish well if I had caught one.  Since there was no fish for dinner we ate out and took in an early movie. Afterwards, we came back to the site, and had cherry pie. Santa brought us a new air mattress for Christmas so we tried it underneath the memory foam mattress from the upper bunk.  It was alright, and certainly smaller but not as comfortable as the 3" memory foam beast we used last fall.  We ran our little ceramic heater inside the van and the night was cozy.  The next morning dawned clear, cold and WINDY.  Because of the 35-45 mph gusts, we tried cooking inside the Metris for the first time. It worked surprisingly well, but because I had not restocked the camp supplies last fall, we were very low on propane.  We managed hot water for coffee and tea, and a little freshening up without running out of gas (propane) this time, either. On the way home we stopped at our favorite country restaurant for lunch, and of course - more pie!  

"Third time's a charm," they say.  Our next trip was this last weekend, to relocate my Step Mom to her new home.  We had been gearing up for this one for awhile. Hubby knew we would be pulling a 12' U-Haul trailer, so he bought these:

https://www.amazon.com/sumosprings-Universal-Inner-CSS-1195-Spring/dp/B0C9LB6M7S/ref=asc_df_B0C9LB6M7S/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=666675384172&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=6164548072085365050&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9022120&hvtargid=pla-2186952889173&psc=1&mcid=9ebf9e7f4815344dbfce9e74df037f3f

and installed them himself.  I have no idea if they made a big difference, since the only other towing we've done with the Metris was of our pop-up trailer, and he has a sway bar and weight distribution system in place for all of that.  But I can say that they did not cause any known issues.  

Speaking of known, or in this case - unknown issues, we had a very strange thing happen when we stopped for lunch.  We parked in an empty section of a grocery store parking lot (because of towing) and when Hubby got out to see if the trailer was okay, he decided he needed to adjust it a few feet.  When he got back into the Metris, it wouldn't start.  No noises, no click of ignition, just turned the key and got a whole lot of NOTHING.  Rather than panic straight away, I suggested we go in and eat, and do some research over lunch.  He spent time searching for an answer, and pondering how we were going to get all of the stuff in the trailer the rest of the way to our end destination.  I spent the time hoping and praying that the "glitch" would resolve itself, and we would be on our merry way.  Obviously, I'm the optimist in our relationship. And fortunately, in this case, I won.  We went out after lunch and started the van first try.  Then we went across the road to get gas, and it started up fine there, too.  Has anyone ever had an issue like this with their Metris?  It was unnerving, to say the least.  

 

We were heading South, and as we did it was a joy to see Spring blooming along the way.  The red buds were beautiful, and there were Bradford pears, magnolia, and forsythia in full bloom. It was like rushing forward two weeks in just two days. The farther we went, the more intense the colors.  There were entire empty fields full of purple henbit.  Maybe that's a Midwest thing too, but it sure is beautiful in the sunshine.  https://mdc.mo.gov/discover-nature/field-guide/henbit

 

Towing went well, however we were only getting about 12 mpg.  We filled up a couple of times, but at the end it was another one of those "will we make it?" moments, and we didn't. We had 32 miles to go, and the console computer told us we had 52 miles worth of fuel.  Knowing that was cutting it close, we started looking for a stop but the next one was a ways ahead.  Five miles later, we checked the computer, and it had gone to that same screen I had in Indiana, with no information re: remaining miles, because there weren't any! Obviously, the recommended range is not entirely accurate.  I suggested we get off the highway at the next exit, and we saw there was a Casey's ahead, but the Metris died and we coasted into a large gravel parking lot, with the gas station in sight - less than a 1/4 mile away.  Step Mom was following us, so she took Hubby to Casey's and they had to buy the can and bring back one gallon of gas to get us to the pumps, where we filled up!  NOTE: When you run out of gas it activates the check engine light.  But the next day, this seemed to resolve itself, as well.  

While they got the gas, I chatted with this guy: 

https://www.facebook.com/GellyballGuy/?locale=hi_IN

We were parked in his lot at his warehouse.  He is super friendly, and has a MB diesel camper that he really likes. If anyone in the Joplin MO area wants someone to liven up their party, he's your man.  Give him a shout, and shoot some business to a local guy that is living his dream job!  

We arrived at our destination with no more mishaps, since we were literally almost there already.  : -)    We pulled up to the house and popped the top without even unhitching. It was our first "stealth camping" experience, sleeping in front of a house in a neighborhood (with permission, of course.)  It was a quiet night, and we kept warm without electricity with the low temperature for the night around 40 degrees.  

After unpacking and returning the U-Haul, we headed to Lake of the Ozarks State Park Campground for a little escape before going back to work on Tuesday.  Before setting up camp, we picked up groceries for supper.  The campground was mostly empty so we picked a site at the very bottom with a great view of the lake. 

It was a basic site - no water and no electricity. We had managed to stay warm the night before, so we were not too concerned until Hubby noticed during a brief moment of connectivity that the low was going to be 23 degrees and it was very windy.  We parked the van so the wind hit the drivers side, and protected the fire pit a little.  When I started to cook supper, I realized I had not restocked the propane!  This meant the fire became a crucial element for the evening's meal.  We have a grate, and tin foil, so we cooked the steak over the open fire and the veggies in foil pouches.  It turned out quite well, and we had peach pie for desert.  The fire kept us warm for awhile. 

 

 

Just before bedtime, we spotted a strange white patch on the lake, and heard unusual water noises.  As we were pondering what it could be, the giant flock of snow geese took flight and it was a sight to see, even in the dark. Apparently we happened to hit migration time just right, and Lake of the Ozarks was on their way home, as well as ours.  We tucked in for the night wearing multiple layers under several blankets, and managed to sleep despite the chill.  In the morning, we ran the van to warm things up before dressing. The sun was hitting the front of the tent part, so we started getting some decent solar heat, as well.  After a continental breakfast (sans coffee or tea because we ran out of propane,) inside the van because of the cold, we broke camp and headed for home.  

 

We had planned on the trip home being a bit of a meander, so we took older highways rather than interstate, and enjoyed the time.  It was a trip up memory lane for me. I was raised spending summers in Missouri with my grandparents on both sides, traveling these same roads. We were able to visit both of their hometowns, see their houses, and of course, make a stop at OZARKLAND!   

One of the final stops on our meander was at Emiquon National Wildlife Refuge, which is a wet lands project not far from our town. 

https://www.nature.org/en-us/get-involved/how-to-help/places-we-protect/emiquon/

We specifically stopped to see if there were any more flocks of snow geese, and we were not disappointed.  We watched a flock floating, and quite a few flying in V formation heading back North, just as we were.  Now I am looking forward to experiencing Spring at home, and it will seem like a special treat because I've seen it once already.  

Oh, and then there were these gems along the way: