We needed to drive from LA to Kansas City.
Yes, we know there’s a war on. Yes, we know gas is expensive. But … isn’t it really about where you are buying from? Here is what we paid for each tank of Unleaded on our 4,000+ mile journey:
- 3/20, Chevron, Barstow, CA, $6.099
- I usually avoid this brand for cheaper alternatives … but I had my credit card # stolen at another station in Barstow a few years back, and I am brand loyal to this station now.
- 3/20, Chuck Sandoval, INC (?), Williams, AZ = $4.899
- Mobil station. We only came here because the station down the street was under construction & didn’t have bathrooms. That was $0.80 cheaper per gallon … and the bathrooms were not worth it. One of the worst.
- 3/21, Mr Gas, Edgewood, NM = $3.699
- 3/22, Love’s, Erick, OK = $3.299
- 3/22, Casey’s, Blackwell, OK = $3.149
- No, we didn’t have the pizza.
- 3/23, Store #1323, Faucett, MO = $3.299
- The store brand was Pilot … not on the receipt
- 3/24, Sam’s, Liberty, MO = $3.199
- Mrs M is set up with the app, which I had never used before. Easiest transaction of the trip … scan the QR code, use the app with the pre-loaded card to pay for it, and you are golden.
- 3/26, QuikTrip, Excelsior Springs, MO = $3.279
- 3/29, Love’s, Hinton, OK = $3.149
- Receipt did not print at all. Nothing on the paper I was issued.
- 3/29, Buc-ee’s, Amarillo, TX = $3.099
- Buy the gas, stay for the merch.
- 3/30, Circle K, Albuquerque, NM = $3.969
- Receipt printed, but illegible
- 3/30, Pilot, Bellemont, AZ = $4.199
- 3/31, Pilot, Lake Havasu, AZ = $4.199
- 4/2, Pilot, Castaic, CA = $5.799
- No receipt printed. This station is supposed to be one of the least expensive in Castaic, where we now live. Worst experience at the pump of the entire trip. Multiple pumps were blocked by passenger vans with … tourists? … that were on a break, going into the store, then eating street tacos & blocking pumps until they were ready to go. I had to move locations twice before I found a pump that actually became available while I was there. And I still had to pay California prices.
14 tanks of gas. Compare it to flying, and even with hotels … the prices are not that different. Time is the big factor, and we took the time.
We did not “shop” much for gas … when we needed it, we bought it at interstate-friendly stations. Prices did seem to increase during the 13 days we were on the road; the posted prices for diesel were getting close to $7 near the end of our trip. That should scare us all; prices for everything go up when diesel prices go up.
Yes, the most expensive gas is in California, by a lot. We pay close to $2/gallon in taxes. Beyond that, gas refineries (Chevron, Valero) are closing in California due to the anti-business regulatory climate (per the Chevron CEO), so we are now literally importing our gasoline from a refinery in Bermuda, I am told. Somebody has to pay for that. And that someone is all of the people that drive in California … $8/gallon is projected for this summer.
Thankfully, the trips we have planned this year are mainly not in California. I recommend that for anyone that cares about the price of transportation.