User Content > Road Trips
Southwest in late February/early March?
oscar:
--- Quote from: Bruce on November 30, 2021, 09:25:52 PM ---The cheapest gas you'll find there is probably in Pasco or Kennewick, as the Pendleton stations charge a premium for convenience.
--- End quote ---
As in the "convenience" of no self-service gas pumps? AFAIK, the Pendleton area is the only part of eastern Oregon where self-service gas pumps are still illegal. No such issue in Washington state.
US 89:
--- Quote from: oscar on November 30, 2021, 10:13:36 PM ---
--- Quote from: Bruce on November 30, 2021, 09:25:52 PM ---The cheapest gas you'll find there is probably in Pasco or Kennewick, as the Pendleton stations charge a premium for convenience.
--- End quote ---
As in the "convenience" of no self-service gas pumps? AFAIK, the Pendleton area is the only part of eastern Oregon where self-service gas pumps are still illegal. No such issue in Washington state.
--- End quote ---
Probably just the convenience of being on I-84 in what is otherwise the absolute middle of nowhere. Same sort of thing you see in Needles on I-40.
hbelkins:
Looking more at the possibility of this trip, and the overriding concerns are going to be finances and the weather. What I can accomplish the most from a roadgeekery standpoint in the most economical manner without running into inclement weather is going to be a prime factor.
Arizona gas is going to be cheaper than Utah gas (something I learned back in the summer) so clinching Arizona's counties is probably the most doable thing. I'd probably try to do that in a counter-clockwise manner from the Flagstaff-Williams area, swooping west, then south, then back north again. Beyond that, I'm not sure what I could get done.
Lodging costs are also a factor. My preference is $60 to $70 exterior-corridor Days Inn, Red Roof, or Super 8-types over $130 a night Hamptons or HI Expresses.
Weather concerns are the biggest deterrent from trying to clinch US 160 eastward (along with the necessity of getting back to the Grand Canyon in time to pick my brother up without backtracking previously-driven routes.)
abefroman329:
What route are you planning to take to/from Flagstaff? If you're going past a major airport, you could rent the car there and drop it off on your way home.
I've mostly managed to avoid the astronomical costs of car rental by using codes belonging to former employers. If that isn't an option, Costco also has some good deals on rental cars. And if you're renting from an airport, then there's also Hotwire.
hbelkins:
--- Quote from: abefroman329 on December 27, 2021, 10:49:08 AM ---What route are you planning to take to/from Flagstaff? If you're going past a major airport, you could rent the car there and drop it off on your way home.
I've mostly managed to avoid the astronomical costs of car rental by using codes belonging to former employers. If that isn't an option, Costco also has some good deals on rental cars. And if you're renting from an airport, then there's also Hotwire.
--- End quote ---
We'll be going in on I-40. If I do rent a car, I'll probably have to drive my brother's truck back to Flagstaff to pick it up. It would be out of the way for him to have to come back to Flagstaff to pick me up if he drops me off there, since after we leave the Grand Canyon we're headed to Canyonlands in Utah, which would require taking US 160 and US 163 from US 89.
Most likely scenario is me keeping my brother's truck for any exploring I do, based on the cost of a week's rental. I'd have to pay for the rental, gas, and lodging, vs. only gas (at 17 mpg, but it's doubtful any SUV I rent would get better mileage to offset the rental costs) and lodging if I keep his truck.
At a way-too-conservative estimate of $100 a day for gas and lodging, it's still going to cost me $600 -- and that's a significant discouragement unless my tax refund is much higher than it has been in past years. Plus, we'd be leaving on Feb. 23 so that would be a tight crunch in terms of getting my taxes filed electronically and getting the refund. I can file as soon as I get my W-2, though, and got the refund fairly early last year, so that may work in my favor.
The trip may not happen, though. My brother said his knees and feet are bothering him and he's concerned about being able to physically do the hike.
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