Bob was keeping one eye on the road and one eye on the fuel gauge of their campervan. It registered about 1/8 of a tank, or roughly three gallons by his back-of-the-brain calculation. Was there an extra reserve once it hit empty? Bob and Julia had no idea. But what they did know was that the van was getting about 15 miles per gallon. So, three gallons should last about 45 miles. They also knew it’s not a good idea to let a diesel engine run dry as it can be hard to restart. Thus, at an unknown mile post beyond 45, they would face their unchosen destination for an unspecified period of time with an unhappy van. Unfortunately.

The smart thing would have been to fill up in Mackinaw City before crossing the Mackinac Bridge heading north into the Upper Peninsula (UP) of Michigan. Or they could have found a gas station in St. Ignace, the town right off the highway as soon as they entered the UP. That would have been the second smartest thing they could have done. But one of these travelers (Bob) too often pushes it, occasionally trying to fill up at the last possible moment before getting to their campsite and settling down for the upcoming week.

If you have never been to the UP, you really should go. It is an amazing part of a state which in and of itself is beautiful. If Bob and Julia don’t get forever stranded on some remote roadway, they will talk more about Michigan’s beauty in a future blog. But for now, let’s resume their diesel consumption lesson.

Once in the UP, the anxious couple soon noticed something else besides a low fuel gauge. Most towns seem to be few, far between and sparsely populated. Sure, they could have stopped in Trout Lake, which was the first town with a gas station visible from the road that they encountered in the UP. But Bob, while not speeding, was still driving a little too fast to see the gas station’s sign in front stating it had diesel. In his defense, it was a really bad sign – no prices and the print was extra small. Plus, the pumps were quite removed from the road so Bob could not see if any of the pumps had a green handle, signifying diesel. Julia wasn’t looking up soon enough to clearly see the station go by. Sadly, this gas station appeared to be the only one in town. Evidently, one rule of exploring is there is no turning around to check something out. We know this because the fearless couple went on down the road. No doubt the rule was created by some early explorer who didn’t survive long.  

Math is Hard

It was shortly after passing through Trout Lake when Julia consulted her map app and declared “Twenty-three minutes to Paradise”, which was the next town they would come to. At their current speed, this time equated to almost 23 miles. Another travel app showed her Paradise maybe had diesel, but it wasn’t a guarantee. And after Paradise, it was another 37 miles to the next town of Newberry, which likely did have diesel but was also way past their campground. In other words, they would have to drive by their campground and then keep on driving to get refueled. If they ran out of fuel, would this increasingly desperate couple be rescued before the swarms of mosquitos drained all the blood from their bodies? Ok, this conjecture is a bit of hyperbole.  

Some simple addition was now rapidly taking place and the gambling couple could see that the mileage math was quickly working against them: 23 miles to Paradise + 37 miles to Newberry is greater than the 45 miles that ends who-knows-where with a sputtering stop. Bob and Julia will usually refuel when the van is between ¼ and ½ tank full. This time they did not, and the suddenly remorseful couple was now hoping Paradise was a fuel utopia and not just a place that sounds like a really nice wide spot in the road.

Paradise Should Come With a Green Handle

Holding the steering wheel tighter doesn’t improve a vehicle’s gas mileage, nor does it improve one’s demeanor. But doing so helps focus the mind and clarify best re-fueling practices. Bob didn’t verbalize his thoughts but swore to himself he will not do this again, at least for the remainder of this trip. The steering wheel felt his regret and appreciated his re-found wisdom.

But suddenly there it was, up ahead on the left. Paradise. Specifically, a gas station with green-handled pumps. Hallelujah! The alternative would have been hellelujah as it appeared to be the only diesel station in town. Bob and Julia didn’t even fret too much that the cost was over a $1 more per gallon than they had seen before crossing the bridge to the UP.

The relieved couple pulled up to the pumps. Bob got out of the van to fill up and then noticed it was one of those kind of pumps – go inside and pay first then come back out and fill up. There was no paying at the pump. Something about these pay inside first pumps always makes Bob and Julia a little uneasy, especially for the stone-age stations that hold hostage to your credit card while you go back outside to fill up. They avoid these places when they can and once even drove a few miles to a different station when they discovered the first one was a hold-your-card type establishment. It just looked a little iffy.

Of course, the suspicious couple didn’t exactly have the option to drive away and find another station, now did they? Bob reluctantly walked into the station and up to the counter, resigned to surrender his card if need be, when this conversation went down:

       Bob: “I need to fill up on the pump where that van is parked,” pointing to it out the window.
       Clerk (speaking fast and tersely): “Fill up and then come back in and pay.”
       Bob: “Uh… what?” not grasping this never before heard command.
       Clerk (more tersely with emphasis): “Fill first, then pay.”
       Bob: “Uh, ok. Thanks.”  

Once back in the van and on the road, the happy couple talked about how unusual the fill-first procedure was and how trusting the clerk was, even if her demeanor didn’t let her trust shine through. Then again, Bob and Julia are in a campervan and probably wouldn’t be hard to catch if they attempted to fill and run. Which they didn’t, we can assure you. But if that’s the way all Yoopers are, Bob and Julia were really going to like this place.

Which they did really like this place. (And it wouldn’t be their only fill-first station while in Michigan either.) In a future blog the carefree couple will talk more about how wonderful the UP is, at least when not being romanced in masse by the local mosquitos. Stay tuned.

The end.

Epilogue

Bob and Julia put just over 21 gallons of diesel in their van when they filled up. This meant the van still had 3 gallons of fuel coming into Paradise. They could have driven the 37 miles to Newberry with maybe one-half gallon to spare. What in the world was this crazy couple worried about?    

The header photo above shows the green-handled paradise as seen from the van’s dashcam. On a subsequent day, Bob and Julia visited the village of Newberry. While they didn’t drive by a gas station selling diesel, the happy-go-lucky couple did almost bump into a vehicle that runs on diesel. Check it out: