Think California's gasoline crisis is confined to just California? Sorry, but it crosses state lines to Arizona (and Nevada).
You can thank Gov. Gavin Newsom and the leftist Democrats in the state's legislature for this. It is all their doing!
The video below explains it all:
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| Above, California's lizard Governor Gavin Newsom. |
The Marxist Democrats who control the California state government are hell-bent on making the state so expensive that nobody wants to live there. I got out eight years ago.
Led by buffoon Gov. Gavin Newsom's government is causing oil companies to close up their refinery and gas station shops and leave. This will eventually cause the price of gasoline to skyrocket to $10-12 per gallon according to industry experts.
The Federalist blog (by friend and Clamper Gary Julian) posted an article on this.
To read it, go here.
The idiots who consistently vote for Democrats deserve this misery. This is what happens when you have a one-party state of Marxists.
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| Above, at the Cody, Wyoming KOA Kampground. Photo by Armand Vaquer. |
My recent RV trip that took me through Utah, Colorado, Wyoming, Montana and South Dakota was a good trip. Thankfully, gasoline prices were in the $3.00/gallon neighborhood or less.
The total fuel cost for the trip was $902.88, which is to be split 50/50 with a friend who came along. That, plus campground fees incurred, were still cheaper than a cruise for each of us.
RV Travel has posted an article on 10 states with the highest and lowest gasoline prices.
They begin it with:
If you’re planning to hit the road in your RV this summer, be ready to pay up at the pump—especially out West. With California gas averaging $4.52 a gallon, and prices across the Pacific Northwest states not far behind, fuel is once again one of the biggest expenses for road trippers. Would you like to know the 10 highest and lowest gas prices by state? We can oblige you!
Unlike the West, states like Mississippi, Oklahoma, and Texas are offering some of the lowest prices in the country—closer to $2.70 a gallon—making them prime stops for filling up. Whether you’re crossing the country or just cruising regionally, knowing where gas is cheapest could make a big difference to your travel budget.
To read more, go here.
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| Above, my Labor Day drive in Six Mile Canyon. Photo by Armand Vaquer. |
Before heading into Six Mile Canyon of the Cibola National Forest on Labor Day, I filled the Jeep's gas tank at the Flying J.
The price at the pump for unleaded was $3.139/gallon. With my Good Sam discount, that was brought down to $3.080/gallon for me.
Gasoline prices have been trending down according to RV Travel.
They posted:
WASHINGTON, D.C. (September 5, 2024)—After idling over the Labor Day weekend, the national average for a gallon of gas resumed its pace of daily declines by falling six cents since last week to $3.30. Key contributors are low gas demand and the plunging cost of oil, which is struggling to stay above $70 a barrel. The national average cost for L2 commercial electricity remained the same for EV drivers.
Hopefully, the prices will continue to trend down in the coming weeks when I head to Ridgway, Colorado to help out with the John Wayne Cancer Foundation's marathons.
To read more, go here.
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| Above, the Beast in Fort Sumner, New Mexico back in June. Photo by Armand Vaquer. |
Since I am staying home this Labor Day weekend, the following doesn't affect me that much.
Right now, gasoline prices in the Gallup, New Mexico area is around $3.15/gal. With my Good Sam discount that I use at the Flying J, I bring that price down to $3.10/gallon, which I did the other day when I filled up the Jeep's gas tank.
How is the rest of the nation faring?
According to an article in RV Travel:
AAA says Labor Day gas prices will be down. Still, they’re not dropping as fast as they have been recently. Prices dipped just two cents to $3.36 since last week. A slight uptick in gas demand may reflect the last hurrah for summer travelers. A storm system forming in the Atlantic may pose a threat to falling gas prices, as well. Meanwhile, the national average for Level 2 (L2) commercial electricity, an important number for e-vehicle drivers, did not budge.
Of course, there are always exceptions, such as California where the average price for unleaded regular now stands at $4.629 (according to AAA). I am sure glad I got the hell out of that state!
To read more, go here.
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| Above, at the Bar D Chuckwagon show and dinner in Durango in 2022. |
A couple of years ago, I was planning to take an RV vacation trip in eastern Wyoming and the Black Hills areas of South Dakota.
Unfortunately, the high price of gasoline at the time stymied those plans, so I took a vacation trip with my former roommate Jessica to Durango, Colorado to ride the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad and camp at Navajo Lake in New Mexico. Both are only a few hours drive from home.
Now is the time where people begin their planning for a summer vacation trip. One consideration is the cost of gasoline and diesel.
RV Travel takes a look at how much it could cost to fill up the gas or diesel tank for the trip.
They begin with:
As the weather warms up (more) across the country, a lot of RVers are in the trip-planning phase. One of the big questions that takes center stage: How much will it cost to fill up the motorhome or the tow rig? We’ve probed the petroleum prognosticators to try and get a feel for what you might pay this summer. Depending on who you ask, fueling up may not be so bad.
To read more, go here.
While at the fire station for our annual Whispering Cedars Water Association meeting yesterday, I was able to see the Flying J Travel Center's price sign and noted that unleaded regular dropped down a dime per gallon. It is now at $3.799/gallon.
Since I have to go to Ridgway, Colorado this coming weekend, this was welcome. A dime per gallon may not seem like much, but when one multiplies that by 55 gallons the motorhome holds, that's a bit of nice savings. On top of that, I get a five cent per gallon discount with my Good Sam membership.
Every little bit helps!
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| Above, at the Shady Lady Saloon in Silverton, Colorado last year. Photo by Armand Vaquer. |
RV Travel has posted its Saturday edition of their Latest News Newsletter report.
One item of importance to RVers is the current U.S. average cost of fuel. Happily, it is down quite a bit from last year's price.
According to RV Travel:
Latest fuel prices
Here are the latest U.S. average prices per gallon of gasoline and diesel fuel as of June 19, 2023:
Regular unleaded gasoline: $3.58 (Washington state is highest, at $4.77)
Change from week before: Down 2 cents; Change from year before: Down $1.39
Diesel: $3.82
Change from week before: Up 2 cents; Change from year before: Down $2.00For fuel prices for specific states, go to U.S. Energy Information Administration.
In New Mexico, the average gasoline price for unleaded regular is around $3.279/gallon.
For more in today's RV Travel Newsletter, go here.
Usually, gasoline prices are higher at the local Flying J than in Gallup. Last week, the opposite was true.
Unleaded regular was $3.499/gallon in Gallup, whereas the Flying J price for the same grade was $3.399/gallon.
According to the Piñon Post, gas prices are going up again.
They wrote:
Due to the recent Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) decision to cut oil production, gas prices have already risen eight percent in the United States. The price whiplash is par for the course in Joe Biden’s America, with his “climate change” agenda taking center stage — and consumers feeling the pain at the pump.
“Some forecasters see prices rising by another 10% or 15%, which would quickly boost the cost of gasoline and other types of carbon energy,” one report notes.
The Saudi Arabia-led OPEC is cutting production by 1.16 million barrels per day. This would have been an opportunity for the United States to fill the gap and create lower prices with more domestic production, but instead of thinking of the taxpayers’ costs, the ant-energy Joe Biden administration is going all-in on its environmental agenda.
Biden then doubled down on his “green” agenda, writing in a White House statement, “Recognizing that clean energy as well as energy efficiency, and demand flexibility measures are essential to enhancing energy security and accelerating the energy transition, the Task Force has exchanged information on policy and market solutions to accelerate the deployment of energy efficiency technology, heat pumps, smart thermostats and related awareness raising activities among consumers and relevant stakeholders.”
OPEC's actions would not faze us if we had the energy independence that President Trump left us. Now that the environmentalist wackos are in charge, we can expect sky-high fuel costs.
Take a good look at California's energy prices. This is what Biden wants to do to the rest of the country.
To read more, go here.
Inflation is not at all abating, despite what the Biden Administration has been trying in gaslighting the American people into believing.
Food and fuel have led the price increases.
From The Daily Caller:
Inflation accelerated on a monthly basis in January, surging past investor expectations as prices continue to climb, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).
Prices climbed 0.5% on a monthly basis in January after declining by 0.1% in December, while growing 6.4% on an annualized basis from 6.5% in December, according to the BLS. Inflation shot past economists’ expectations, with a Dow Jones poll predicting a 0.4% monthly increase and 6.2% annual hike, CNBC reported.
Since hitting a 40-year high in June of 9.1%, inflation has fallen each month since, but remains more than three times above the Federal Reserve’s target rate of 2%, according to The Wall Street Journal.
To read more, go here.
The local Flying J gas prices are still over $3.00 per gallon. It had been forecast by some that this would be happening.
Prices had gone below $3.00 prior to this month.
The current gas prices at the Flying J:
At least I'm not in Commiefornia, where the current average for unleaded regular is $4.441.
It is a good thing that I have no vehicles that are powered by diesel. Likewise, I don't need it to heat the house.
But that doesn't help those who do, especially the trucking industry.
RV Travel took a look at the so-called diesel "shortage" and posted an article on what they found. One of the reasons given are shuttered refineries. We have one in Jamestown, New Mexico.
They begin with:
Recent headlines have drawn attention to a shortage of diesel fuel across the country. The number of days of current supply has dropped to 25 amid problems with petroleum transportation and shuttered U.S. refineries.
RVers might experience shortages of retail diesel fuel in the weeks ahead, particularly in the Eastern and Southeastern regions of the country. Prices will be high across the continent.
According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), stocks of diesel fuel and other distillate fuel oils were down to 106 million barrels as of October 21, 2022, which the agency says is the lowest for the autumn season since it began collecting data in 1982.
Are we “running out” of diesel?
Yes and no.
To read more, go here.
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| Above, yours truly in Monument Valley two weeks ago. |
When gasoline prices started to skyrocket this year, I didn't think I would be getting much use out of the motorhome.
But then prices started to fall during the summer and they got to the point that I could afford to go do some traveling.
First, in July, my ex-roommate Jessica and I went to Durango, Colorado and Navajo Lake in New Mexico. Both were reasonably close to home and I only needed a tank and a quarter for the whole trip.
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| Above, aboard the Durango train in July. |
Then, a month later, I headed up to Ouray and Ridgway, Colorado for the John Wayne Cancer Foundation's Grit Series 5K and Half Marathon. The amount of fuel for that was the same as the Durango trip.
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| Above, yours truly with Patrick Wayne near Ridgway, Colorado August 27. |
Then, I attended the Lost Dutchman Chapter, ECV's fall clampout near Ash Fork, Arizona in September. I only needed one tank of gas for that trip.
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| Above, The Beast at the Lost Dutchman clampout near Ash Fork. Photo by Armand Vaquer. |
This month, I headed up to Monument Valley for a couple of nights. That trip also only required one tank of gas.
Currently, the gasoline price averages for New Mexico are as follows (unleaded regular, mid-grade and premium) from AAA:
New Mexico $3.619 $3.953 $4.247 |
| Above, Old Faithful Geyser in eruption. Photo by Armand Vaquer. |
Likely due to the floods of June and the high cost of gasoline and diesel, visitation to Yellowstone National Park was down again in September.
According to the Bozeman Daily Chronicle:
Yellowstone National Park’s visitation totals dropped again in September, continuing a downward trend spurred by historic flooding in June that washed out roads and led to closures.
The park announced Monday that it recorded 567,587 visits in September, a 36% decrease from September 2021. It’s also 18% lower than the month’s total in 2019, the final year before the COVID-19 pandemic and the visitation surge that followed.
It brings the park’s year-to-date total to just over 3 million visits. That’s down 32% from the same time in 2021, which was the park’s busiest year on record.
To read more, go here.
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| Above, Alpen Rose RV Park in Durango, Colorado. Photo by Armand Vaquer. |
The past several years, including the pandemic years of 2020 and 2021, have been boom years for the RV industry.
Now, thanks to the economic slowdown, inflation and high fuel prices, things have been tapering off.
Yahoo! Finance has an article musing if the "glory days" for the RV industry are coming to an end.
They begin it with:
The recreational vehicle (RV) industry was one of the few industries that prospered during the pandemic. With airlines and cruises not being particularly safe and viable travel options then, pandemic-weary Americans started looking for ways to venture out responsibly and turned to RVs.
RVs emerged as a rare travel winner in 2020 and 2021. But the recent economic slowdown is adversely impacting several industries and this time, the RV space has not been an exception. Demand and shipments of RVs are starting to slide. As recessionary worries loom large, it appears that the RV boom is nearing its end. Despite the uncertain scenario, two stocks — Cavco Industries CVCO and Patrick Industries PATK — could be attractive bets if you wish to stay invested in this space. But before delving into the stocks, let’s discuss the recent RV shipments numbers and outlook for 2022 and 2023.
To read more, go here.
Did you know that New Mexico depends on the oil & gas industry for 35% of the state budget? That's $2.9 billion dollars!
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham and the lunatic Democrats in the state legislature want to "phase out" new gasoline and diesel-fueled vehicles starting in 2026.
That's only four years away! New Mexico is not a rich state. There's a lot of poverty here. How are people going to afford electric vehicles, especially those in tribes? For starters (pardon the pun), how are people going to afford to replace EV batteries?
According to Auto Week:
In 2016, studies found that the cost of a typical EV battery replacement could reach $10,000 or more.
Also, where is the state going to make up the lost revenue? They would have to hike property taxes. Property owners would have to hike rents to compensate for the tax hike. People charging their electric vehicles would also have to pay an additional tax at the charging station (if they can find one). The sales tax would have to be hiked.
Being forced to buy something you don't want (electric vehicles) is not freedom, folks!
We are already seeing the chaos these kinds of policies are causing in California. Last week, Californians were asked not to charge their EVs so not to strain the state's power grid. This will happen in New Mexico!
You can stop this Leftist lunacy this November by voting out every Democrat who supports this. That starts with Lujan Grisham on down. Elect a Republican governor and legislative candidates who pledge to repeal the Clean Car Rule. (By the way, where does Republican nominee Mark Ronchetti stand on this?)
Pass this on!
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| Above, at the Shady Lady Saloon in Silverton, Colorado last month. Photo by Armand Vaquer. |
Up until the past few weeks, I have not as much RV travel due to the high gasoline prices.
Now that they've come down by about a dollar per gallon, I have been out in the RV on a couple of trips and will be doing some more this month.
RV Life has posted an article with 10 reasons one should travel in the RV.
The start it with:
Summer is starting to wind down and the RV travel season tends to go with it. RV owners look at putting their rigs in storage, emptying and winterizing the tanks, and getting ready for the flurry of holidays coming down the pipe.
This is a real shame. When summer winds down, so do the crowds, traffic, park and campground fees, hot weather, and bugs. This not only makes for a more pleasant camping experience, but it also keeps you in the RV mood, no matter what the weather.
Weather and camping conditions are just one reason to travel more in your RV. There are a few others that we want to discuss below, but before we do, we’ll talk about the elephant in the room: fuel costs.
Putting away the RV for the season will definitely save you money on gas and diesel. However, there are other things that will suffer if you quit RVing for the next six to eight months. These include your RV “muscle” memory, your rig’s systems, and even your sanity. These ten reasons go beyond just the price of fuel and cover things you may have never thought of during the RV off-season.
To read more, go here.
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| Above, at the Grand Canyon KOA in Williams, Arizona. Keeping the destination within 200 miles should require only require one tank of gas. Photo by Armand Vaquer. |
Gasoline and diesel prices have made many RVers think twice about their summer vacation trip.
To fill a 55 gallon motorhome will cost over $200 a pop.
As Karl Malden used to say in those 1970s American Express commercials, "What will you do? What will you do?"
Fortunately, RV Life has some affordable RVing solutions that will save money.
They begin with:
Recent inflation on the costs of nearly everything has everyone tightening their belts and looking for ways to save money. With huge leaps in fuel costs, some RVers are even questioning whether they can afford to take an RV holiday this year.
Luckily, there are still painless ways you can cut back on expenses so you can still RV without breaking the bank. Here are our top RVing solutions for affordable travel during these rather expensive times.
To read more, go here.
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| Above, a Class A RV on display at the California RV Show. Photo by Armand Vaquer. |
The RV industry is being hit harder by high gasoline prices than it cares to admit.
At least that's the position of a new article in RV Travel. The article says that stock prices and other indicators may be predicting tough times ahead.
The article begins with:
Despite the positive spin that many RV industry manufacturers are putting on how high gas prices are theoretically not affecting RVers, stock price numbers don’t lie. Three major players in the market, Thor Industries, Winnebago, and Camping World, have seen their stock prices drop over the last several months.
There’s been more trumpeting by industry over the remarkable record 2021 sales figures than in a herd of elephants, true. But hang on, the projections are that sales this year will fall a steep 8.4%. That sobering figure is from the RV Industry Association’s market report, published in May.
Stock market talking head issues warning
Last week, a talking head from Jefferies Financial Group, Bret Jordan, told Yahoo Finance Live that things weren’t particularly rosy for the RV industry. “It’s a compounding effect of inflation, whether it’s gas, or milk, or heating, or rent. All of this is sort of draining the consumer’s liquidity,” Jordan pointed out. “And, obviously, when you’re at the pump and you’re putting $100 into your tank when it used to be $25 or $30, it really strikes home.”
To read the full article, go here.
