Tag Archive: gas prices


A SHORT STAY IN QUARTZSITE, AZ.

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November 1, 2012

Gas prices–
We had enough Arizona gas at $3.41/gal. to get into California recently and drive around Southern California but…we couldn’t make it out of California without buying some California gas. Paid $3.94/gal. in California which was not as bad as we heard it was going to be. After we left California this time we paid $3.78/gal. for gas in Arizona. So there is a difference in price but not that big, scary difference that we were reading about. Gas had been higher priced a few weeks before we got to California, but that didn’t last so very long. Thank goodness!

Boondock–

We are aggressive RV boondockers and rarely pay to stay overnight or to dump our tanks/get fresh water. As we do most nights, on the way to Arizona from California we boondocked for the night along the way and moved on after breakfast. For the “snowbird” season (“avoid cold weather season”) , we could stay on free undeveloped BLM land to boondock on but the $180 pass we bought makes staying on developed BLM land (called LTVA), with its attendant RV facilities, just easier and is still most certainly cost-effective since we will stay on BLM land intermittently this fall/winter. With a small budget, we make every effort to direct the funds we do have to actual travel.

Quartzsite, Arizona–
Went to the small town of Quartzsite, AZ  from So. California for some peace and quiet. Boy Howdy, is it ever quiet in Quartzsite this time of year! We have only seen Quartzsite in the middle of the snow bird season rush so the emptiness of the place is jarring. Many of the restaurants and stores are closed until the “season” gets well underway and for now the BLM land is virtually free of RVs. We are not usually out looking for restaurants but it was our anniversary so we wanted to celebrate a little and realized how many places are closed for now. Most of the folks that are in Quartzsite this time of year are the folks that live here year-round and some of the folks that are escaping truly high snow areas.
We asked one RV couple from Northern Idaho how they handled being away from family during Thanksgiving and Christmas. They said that they have a big celebration of Thanksgiving and Christmas every year with family in late July and that their family seemed to enjoyed the mid-year holiday. Told us that doing it this way was a lot easier on these two snowbirds.
The Quartzsite BLM registration offices have a book exchange in each building and while a lot of the books are what I call “bodice rippers” that we find just too silly to read, some of the books are recent best sellers giving us plenty to choose from so our days are filled with lazy, relaxing reading.
We bought the $180 pass (total cost) that allows us to stay on LTVA (long-term visitor area) BLM land any time from mid-Sept. to mid-April. The pass is good for most California and Arizona developed BLM land and includes the use of multiple RV dump sites, places to get fresh water and numerous places to get rid of trash.
Our “campsite” for now is in La Posa South BLM in Quartzsite, AZ. near a large bush that provides afternoon shade. The temp. is cool in the morning, rises to the low 80′s in the afternoon and then drops rapidly in the evening into the 60′s. Morning walks, reading and relaxing during the day and then usually a moonlit walk in the evening rounds out our day. The moon rise from behind the mountains is a beautiful sight and if there is little or no moonlight the Milky Way with its thousands of points of light can be clearly seen.
Spent Halloween evening chatting around a campfire with a lovely, large group of RVers. These folks have been coming here every year for many years and stay for the whole fall/winter/early spring renewing their old friendships and meeting new people.

RV Water Pump–
When we went to the Lazy Daze factory in Montclair, CA. to get our missing RV Escape Hatch replaced one of the company’s owners (Steve) adjusted our water pump causing it to run much better. He told us further tweaking would be needed over time and, sure enough, Jerry has already had to re-adjust it. We have so much wiring in the area of the water pump from our solar set-up, it helped a lot to see a “work around” to adjust the water pump without disturbing any of the elaborate wiring located in that small space.

Internet, Cell Phone and TV–
The Verizon Internet and Verizon cell phone connections are excellent in Quartzsite and we get a dozen TV channels with just our TV aerial. PBS here has three channels and all come in very well!

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YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK IN AUGUST

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August 6, 2012

Yellowstone–
Early in the morning yesterday we returned to Yellowstone and traveled through the Lamar Valley. This is a huge valley making it easier to see wildlife. Saturday morning, around 6:00 am we heard that a wolf was killed by the local wolf pack when he strayed into their area. Did not see anything as dramatic as that but we did see some grazing animals.
Decided to stay in Mammoth Campground as we have some things to do in that area. Our mail service is sending an aggregate of our mail that has been collecting to the Mammoth Post Office and it should arrive some time this week. We need to go into Gardiner, Mo. to do our laundry and get gas.
Yellowstone is still as beautiful as ever. It’s August so it’s crowded. The trick for moving about in Yellowstone this time of year is to go very early and then don’t try to get very far in the park after that.

Mammoth Campground–
The cost to stay here is $14.00/night but with our Golden Access Pass we only paid $7.00/night. Our site is #32 and at first this does not look like a good choice as it is close to the road and in the sun with little shade. Well, we’re gone all day when too much sun would be an issue and when we are in a sunny spot it is good for our solar panels. The little shade here is perfect as in the late afternoon when we are likely to be at our site, the sun casts a shadow on our refrigerator and helps it stay cool. It is cool enough here in the late afternoon/evening that I have to wear a light jacket. As for the road; it is quite busy during the day when we are gone but as the evening approaches the traffic dies down and essentially stops at night. Last evening from our chairs at our campsite we saw a small herd of elk making their way over a ridge.

Gas Prices–
We filled up with gas in the little town of Gardiner, Montana. that is just northwest of the park entrance. We paid $3.69/gal. regular.
Meeting Fellow Lazy Daze Folks–
We were in Gardiner doing laundry when some fellow Lazy Daze folks stopped in to chat. Elizabeth and Mike from Florida bought their Lazy Daze in 2010 when we bought ours. We didn’t see them at the Lazy Daze factory in 2010 when we were there but we were delighted to meet them now. Because each Lazy Daze is usually built as ordered at the family owned, small factory, the Lazy Daze ownership group is fairly small so it is a pleasure to meet one of the “faithful”. Mike tells us he did a lot of research, as did we, before buying his Lazy Daze. I have yet to meet a Lazy Daze owner who is not very careful about what motor home they were willing to purchase.

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7/31/2012 JASPER NATIONAL PARK TO BANFF NATIONAL PARK

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August 1, 2012

Boondock–
Sunday evening we drove to Lake Louise Village in Baniff National Park and went into the Visitor Center. There we were informed that all campsites were taken but they do have an overflow camping area three miles from the Visitor Center. Overflow camping is free and is nothing to write home about but we parked way in the back and it was quiet which is what we wanted since we almost always camp late in the day and are out early in the morning.

Gas Prices–
Bought gas in the town of Jasper before we started sightseeing yesterday. Gas was $4.53/gal. regular.

Athabasca Falls and Sunwapta Falls–
Spent a good part of the day Sunday at the Athabasca Falls. It was raining with thunder and lightening but we couldn’t resist and walked all around the area. The falls are beautiful and very powerful. There are easy paths that lead to the upper and lower part of the falls as well as across to the other side with lots of viewing platforms. The hard, mostly quartz rock has been thoroughly worn away forming a narrow canyon resulting in a spectacular, thundering of the river rushing down the canyon and crashing to the bottom. A sight we will long remember.
The Sunwapta Falls flow into a limestone gorge and here, too, the falls are a spectacle to see. The carved, smoothed rock of each of the canyons at both the Athabasca and Sunwapta Falls, with all the layers of rock exposed, is a visual treat.

Jasper National Park to Banff National Park–
The rest of the day was spent driving the Icefields Highway from Jasper National Park to Lake Louise Village in Banff National Park. I think we stopped at just about every view spot along the way. In the Icefields Area, there are easy to spot glaciers of various sizes. The largest is the Columbian Icefield that contains the Athabasca Glacier. With an area of about 122 square miles it is simply huge and is the largest in the Rocky Mountains. The glaciers, large and small can be seen from the road or view sites with some of the telltale blue color showing. Additionally, the rugged mountains are a beautiful sight and after the rain the sun was out intermittently for the rest of the day.

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MALIGNE CANYON AND LAKE IN JASPER NATIONAL PARK. ALBERTA, CANADA.

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July 30, 2012

Camping–

Stayed over night at Snaring River Campground in Jasper National Park. It is located closest to Maligne Canyon and Lake where we spent the day. At Snaring River campground, the price was $15.90/night for a space (no hook-ups and no senior discount). Other campgrounds for RV’s here are a little more expensive than we paid. We saw a black bear just outside the campground so that made it interesting. Most National Parks we have been in do not allow boondocking so the designated campground was our only option save leaving the park. The campground was fine, quiet and completely dark an hour after we arrived (so we couldn’t even see our nearest neighbor) but it was smoke-filled as some one had a campfire that produced a tremendous amount of smoke.

Jasper National Park–
We started our day fairly early so saw some wildlife by the side of the road and we ended our day an hour before dark so had a chance to see more wildlife as we drove along. This park is huge and we are just hitting some of the highlights as outlined by the National Parks Visitor Center folks. I can imagine spending an entire summer just exploring this park there’s so much to see. Before we started sight-seeing we got gas at $4.53/gal. regular (price of gas for us is improving!).

Maligne Road–
We took the Maligne Road turn off in Jasper National Park. This is a good, paved, two lane road and leads to some of the many spectacular places in the park. Our favorites today were the Maligne Canyon and the Maligne Lake. The Maligne Canyon appears to have been cut by the fast-moving Maligne River. The canyon rock faces can be seen all the way down to the raging water by taking an easy trail that includes footbridges over the canyon, raging river and a spectacular area where the rapids go over a breathtaking waterfall with tremendous force.
At Maligne Lake we took a 90 minute lake cruise. Cost was $57.50 each and no senior discount but it turned out to be money well spent. In addition to seeing spectacular mountains, a lovely box canyon and glaciers it took us by the well-known “Spirit Island”. We were able to disembark to an overlook giving everyone an opportunity to take pictures of the iconic “Spirit Island”. The island was very small, tree covered and rather non-descrepit but the color of the water surrounding it was that glacier melt, beautiful blue/green, the surrounding mountains were wonderful to look at and the sky was a lovely blue and studded with fluffy white clouds.
All this on a beautiful sunny day that was shirtsleeve weather. The tour guide said that last year they had 73 days in a row of rain at the lake.  Sadly, many people who went out on the cruise last year did not get to see some of this fabulous scenery.

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EN ROUTE TO JASPER NATIONAL PARK

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July 27, 2012

Boondock–
Soon after arriving in Prince George, BC. yesterday we went to Costco for supplies and checked to see if we could stay in their parking area. No problem. Think there would have been no problem at the nearby Walmart or we could have moved on and found a place but we want to use a Wi-fi at one of the free sites. Will probably use a nearby Starbucks so Jerry can check his stocks and maybe sell some options.

Jasper National Park–
Our goal is to go to Jasper National Park so we will begin driving in that direction upon leaving Prince George, BC. today.

Smithers, BC to Prince George, BC–
Yesterday, we drove from just east of Smithers, BC and arrived in Prince George, BC in the late afternoon. Decided that it was enough driving for one day and we also need supplies. Prince George, BC is a fairly large town with a population of about 80,000 and located in the geographic center of British Columbia.  It’s the fourth largest city in the province. It’s a good place for us to stop, rest and resupply. We are always interested in the commerce of an area and try to decipher, just by looking around (something like what Eleanor Roosevelt used to do as she traversed the country) how an area is fairing. You get some idea by seeing housing and the year of car driven as well as how many trains, trucks, etc. appear to be in action. Driving through the eastern part of the province to its center shows the area to be a fertile, apparently fairly prosperous, farming area. Along the highway, farm after farm seemed to be dedicated to growing hay and it seems this is prime harvest time as the hay is stacked in many, huge rolls in the fields. The backdrop for all this farming activity is frequent views of beautiful wooded areas, rolling hills, lakes large and small, rivers and streams. Logging seems to be an important industry here, judging by the number of full logging trucks on the road. We also saw a lot of gasoline trucks and Jerry said there was a refinery somewhere around there. The refinery’s presence is not well reflected in the gas prices, they remain a little high. All in all, it is a relaxing drive through a rather bucolic area.

Gas Prices–
We got gas this morning and paid $4.91per gal. for regular, not as bad as sometimes but could be better. This is the approximate going rate in this area.

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TRAVELLING DOWN THE CASSIAR HIGHWAY. BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA

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July 23, 2012

Boondock–

We boondocked along the Cassiar Highway. This highway is not an especially busy road during the day but at night it falls almost silent as few seem to travel this highway at night. We stayed on a large gravel turn out and the only sound was of a river rushing by. We could not actually see the river as there was so much undergrowth between us and the river but we could hear it well. It gets dark at night now so maybe we are south enough for the sun to actually set.  The temp this morning when we woke was 53 degrees F.  Yesterday, during the day , the temp. got up to the high 70′s.

Gas Prices–
Filled our gas tank along the Alaskan Highway for $5.51/gal. reg. and then topped it off again for $5.51/gal. reg. when we turned down the Cassiar Highway. We needn’t have worried about getting gas along the Cassiar Highway as there are plenty of opportunities even though we were traveling on a Sunday. At least during the daytime there were stations open along the way. Think that at night, this would be more problematic as I doubt they keep all the gas stations open all night.

Cassiar Highway–
Left the Alaska Highway and the Yukon behind and turned down the Cassier Highway which immediately brings you into beautiful British Columbia. The Cassiar Highway is a somewhat narrow, paved, two lane highway with lovely views of a less developed part of British Columbia. For the first few miles of the Cassiar, coming from the Alaska Highway, there are hugh swaths of burned areas.  Growing along the ground under these burned trees is lots of pink blooming fireweed.  It provides beautiful color for as far as the eye can see but it’s also is a food source for bear, deer, etc.   Occasional small towns are dotted along the roadway and, of course, there is the ubiquitous road repair.  We found plenty of of areas of the road that are not in the process of being repaired but are certainly in need of attention. There are big trucks using this road as well as a fair number of RVers, etc. Have seen two black bear on the side of the road and one was kind enough to sit down and pose for pictures. A car raced around us to speed on their way but when they realized what we were looking at, on went the car brakes and they got some pictures of the posing black bear also.  Besides stopping for pictures of beautiful places, we stopped in a few of the small town and chatted with some of the locals.
At lunch, we pulled in alongside a lovely, small lake and watched a mama duck and her duckling paddle around. This mama duck only had one duckling which is rather unusual so something must have happened to the rest of her brood.

Plans–
We are headed for Hyder, Alaska to hopefully see some grizzlies fishing (assuming the fish are running).

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SKAGWAY, ALASKA TO THE YUKON, CANADA.

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July 21, 2012

Boondocked–

We boondocked along the South Klondike Highway north of Skagway in a quiet pull off.   There is almost no traffic on this beautiful highway at night.

Crossing the Border–
Twenty miles north of Skagway, Alaska is the Yukon and the Canadian border.  The boder crossing was quick and painless.  They did ask how long we would be in Canada so we had to guess as our plans are usually fluid.

Gas Prices–
Filled up with gas at a Tesoro station in Haines, Alaska for $4.91/gal. reg. before getting on the ferry to Skagway.  This was considered the lowest price for gas in town and though it is high we know the prices in Canada will likely be higher.

Alaska State Ferry from Haines to Skagway, Alaska–
Took the ferry to Skagway today. Liked Haines and will return one day. Our ferry ride was scheduled for 12:30 pm and we were required to be in line by 11:30 am. They come around and check to be sure the RV propane is turned off at the valve, our ticket and a photo ID. They asked about containers for flammables, we do not carry any but some folks do carry extra gas cans, propane for a Coleman stove, etc. Hanging out, waiting for the ferry was interesting. First of all, you are at the beautiful Portage Cove in Haines. The water is a beautiful blue/green, smooth as glass, fish can be seen jumping out of the water, people watching is fun, to say nothing of watching the ferry crew preparing the ship for travel. Of course, Jerry met a new friend. He’s wonderful that way.  He likes everyone and can chat about any topic with them. Even before we had the RV and stayed in motels on our way back and forth across the country, he always made friends whereever we were.
The voyage to Skagway was over calm waters and quite uneventful. You just wait your turn to drive on with experts (the experienced crew) directing you and the reverse procedure to drive off the ferry. Can’t stay in the RV on the ferry so you can wait in the lounge or outside on the deck.  The Marine Highway Service from Haines to Skagway is only six years old. Before that, it was necessary to drive all the way around a triangle of roads to get from Haines to Skagway. This way is much better for all concerned.  The cost for the ferry for us and the RV from Haines to Skagway was $142.00.

Skagway, Alaska–
This little town is all about the tourist. One of the visitor centers in town is essentially a booking agency for tours, etc. which is fine if that is what you want. Two cruise ship had already off loaded their passengers before we arrived on the ferry so the town was bustling with visitors. We took the self-guided walking tour around town and enjoyed seeing the old building while eating an ice cream cone.
The best part of this town is that some of it is part of the Klondike Gold Rush National Historic Park. This National Park extends from Seattle to Dawson City in Canada. The US National Park Service controls the parts of the park in the US and collaborates with Canada in relation to the parts of the park that are located in Canada. The National Park has a visitor center in Skagway on the corner of 2nd and Broadway Street and was very interesting as well as helpful.
After the walking tour of Skagway we drove out to the remains of the Dyea Townsite and Cemetery. Dyea played an important role in the gold rush of 1897 and was a nearly a ghost town six years later when the gold rush ended. Dyea was located at the head of the Chilkoot Trail and that was the reason it became a boom town. The completion of the train from Skagway the Whitehorse spelled the end for Dyea as folks could more easily take the train. It is a gravel/dirt road to Dyea and as dirt roads go it is good but it is narrow (in some places, only one lane) and has both switchbacks and blind curves. We had no trouble on the road as there is room to pull over and all the opposite direction drivers pulled over and drove carefully. As usual, the NPS, told us that the road was too difficult for our RV but we passed 5th wheels as large or larger than our motorhome on the road.  There is a NPS campground near the Dyea Township at the end of this dirt/gravel road and when we toured it there was no one staying in the campground.
We also visited the Avalanche Slide Cemetery in Dyea where about 100 gold-fever crazed people tried going up the Chilkoot Trail despite being warned of an impending avalanche and were buried by the huge amount of snow that plummed down the trail.

South Klondike Highway–

After boondocking last night, we continued along the South Klondike Highway.  While this highway is not quite as beautiful as the Haines Highway, it is still quite beautiful.  Stopped along the road to take pictures and visited the town of Carcross.  In Carcross we also took the walking tour.  After leaving Carcross we came upon Emerald Lake…beautiful!

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PRINCE WILLIAM SOUND, ALASKA

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July 13, 2012

Boondocked–

We boondocked at Robe Lake in Valdez for the past few nights. Such a lovely sight to wake up to in the mornings.
Got gas Wednesday for $4.31/gal. of regular. So even being at the terminus of the Alaska pipeline, gas is very pricey!

Cruise on Prince William Sound–
Yesterday we went on a cruise on Prince William Sound. It was a raw cold, rainy, gray day in Valdez but we were very excited to go. Took my Dramamine though the seas were quite calm and I probably could have skipped it. Ah but seasickness, that was a chance I was unwilling to risk.
The plan was to go out on Prince William Sound; see as much wildlife as possible and see the Columbia Glacier. We did see quite a bit of life out on the Sound including four whales. None of the whales cooperated and breached for us but seeing them “sound” (dive) and seeing their fluke as they went down was a thrill. We were unable to get anywhere near the Columbia Glacier as the Sound in this area was filled with a blanket of various sized pieces of glacial ice (ice burgs) in the water and everyone agreed that not risking our lives in an attempt to get the boat close to it was probably a good thing. Some of the glacial ice in the water was an amazingly deep blue and beautiful to look at. There was even an eagle perched on the top of one of the very large, very blue ice burgs. It was a cold, wet, thrilling, long day. Seven and a half hours of cruising followed by a fish and chips dinner. We were also lucky to spot the white rabbit on our way to dinner!  Excellent!!!

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WILLOW AND WASILLA, ALASKA

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June 13, 2012

Boondock–
We left Talkeetna last night after dinner. Got some gas at $4.20/gal. reg. It is a bit of a shock when we find $4.20/gal. a “great” price! We’ve put 6700 miles on the motor home since we took off from our daughters house in San Diego and headed north. Along the way out of Talkeetna we were pleased to see other RVers were boondocking along the way. Found a pull-off and spent the night. Getting pretty good at sleeping despite the near round the clock day light. Expected to see a moose wandering around since it looked like prime moose habitat but no such luck.

Willow–
We knew Willow, Alaska was small but wow was it small. There isn’t much for the tourist to see but it is certainly lush there. It does have an airport and it seemed many houses had stacks and stacks of firewood and sometimes a plane in the yard. The next little town along the way was Houston, Alaska but it was so small it didn’t even show up on our map.  At least Willow is on the map.

Wasilla–
It turns out that Wasilla has become a bedroom community for Anchorage and is the fastest growing town in Alaska. It is still low in population compared to places in the lower 48 but you can see it is busy and appears to be sprawling with lots of big box shopping centers.
We stopped here to see the beginning of the Iditarod Race Trail. Went to the Iditarod Race Trail Headquarters and enjoyed spending time in their museum, seeing some displays, visiting some of the sled dogs and watching a couple of films about the history of the race. The race “starts” in Anchorage as a celebration but the official starting place is Wasilla. Chatted for awhile with the son of the “Father of the Iditarod” and owner of the Headquarters property. His dad took his young family and homesteaded in Alaska from Oklahoma in 1947. He was saying the “old” Alaska was better. He thought Alaska was getting too crowded now!
It was a rainy day in this part of Alaska and I think the temperature only got up to about 50 degrees F.
To answer your questions…Yes, we looked.   No, you can not see Russia from anywhere in Wasilla.

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5/25/12 TOK TO DELTA JUNCTION TO FAIRBANKS, ALASKA

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May 26, 2012

Tok, Alaska

It stays almost full daylight well into the night now so you feel like you should and could be doing something when you usually would be settling down for the night. So last night, around 10:00pm we went to Northern Energy and used their free dump, the free hose to wash down the Lazy Daze and filled the tank with gas. The #1 pump works with a credit card after the station is closed and gas was $4.60 per gal. reg. and the dump plus car wash was free with fill-up. Next, we drove north of town and found a boondock site near a pond. Though just off the Alaska Highway, the road is very lightly traveled and we slept well. The GPS location N 63.36375 degrees W 143.41366 degrees. We found it by just reading the MilePost book for that stretch of road. It was 45 degrees and overcast when we woke this morning. Driving along the road from Tok to Delta Junction we saw black bear and moose just grazing along side the road. Got our moose sightings in but have yet to see grizzlies or eagles.

Delta Junction, Alaska

This is the end point of the Alaska Highway and at the visitors center there’s a milepost for that. We had lunch at the visitor center in our RV though there’s a grassy area and picnic tables next to the visitors center. Just up the road is the Historical Rika’s Roadhouse. It is a very interesting museum and period buildings to tour. We spent a few hours poking around and stopped to have a piece of their freshly made strawberry/rhubarb pie that we heard so much about. Oh, yes, it was good. Heard their soup was also good but we had just finished lunch. As soon as we were leaving, in drove a whole tour bus full of people. Glad we missed them.

Fairbanks, Alaska

Arrived in Fairbanks this evening and spent a few hours touring the visitor center and talking with the knowledgeable staff there. Planned the next few days of touring with the visitor center’s help. Will need to get gas here but it looks like it is running around $4.30 per gal. reg. Not too bad after what we paid in Canada.

This will be Memorial Day Weekend, so if any readers served in the military…THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE.

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