This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2005, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Brandi Harvey owns a car but does not drive to work because gasoline these days is too expensive. To save money, she takes an eight-mile bus ride from her Murray apartment to the Nolan's Chevron in Salt Lake City where, as a clerk, she listens to other motorists complain about rising fuel costs.
"They say it's outrageous and it's too expensive to drive," Harvey said as a steady stream of customers fueled up.
One of them, Provo resident Marcus Urie, decided to try to save money by not filling his tank to capacity.
"I'm only going to fill up halfway and then fill up again at home because it's cheaper," he said.
Urie drives a Honda Civic and spends about $70 a month on gas, up from $50 last month. And despite getting good gas mileage, about 30 to 35 miles a gallon, Urie and his wife may skip their annual summer trip to California because of the rising cost of fuel.
According to AAA Utah, last week's average of $2.24 a gallon is the highest price ever recorded in Utah. Last weekend, a gallon of regular gasoline at Nolan's Chevron cost $2.25.
For many Utahns, that means driving less, searching for the best gas prices and rethinking vacations. But for others, the price of gas is not yet high enough to make a difference in their driving habits. Some will economize in other areas - fewer restaurant dinners, for example - in order to keep the tank full.
Jim and Sue Stoker, of North Ogden, pumped $72.25 worth of regular gas into their Chevrolet Suburban on Sunday. The couple fueled up at the Costco in Ogden and paid $2.11 a gallon - one of the lowest prices in the state.
Normally they fill up at a Chevron station closer to home but decided to make the trip across town to save a few pennies per gallon.
"I don't watch gas prices, because I have to have it," Jim said. "In fact, I don't like people to tell me because it just upsets me."
Every weekend during the summer the Stokers drive the gas guzzler to their family cabin in Levan. The SUV, Jim said, is just roomy enough to hold his children and grandchildren. Time spent with his family is too important to sacrifice.
"There are other things we would give up first, like going out to eat and the newspaper," he said.
Near the Stokers, Ogden resident Ben Rudd gassed up his Subaru Outback. He had just returned from a 2,000-mile, round-trip drive to Washington's Olympic Peninsula. He said gas prices along the way were as high as $3 a gallon. Rudd estimated his gas bill at about $200 for the 15-day trek.
"If I couldn't afford it I wouldn't go," he said. "I went 80 mph all the way and back, and it was no problem."
Rudd, who planned his trip before the recent gas hikes, said the only way he would have postponed going was if gas prices soared higher than $3 a gallon.
AAA Utah spokeswoman Rolayne Fairclough said motorists also complained when gas prices jumped last year around this same time but still traveled by car in record numbers.
"They'll take [a trip] if they feel they have the money to do it," she said. "People will still try to take some kind of holiday [this year], but they might not go so far."
John and Dorothy Sitzman, of Park City, Mont., have already driven their rock-star size RV from Indiana to Utah this spring. They stopped at a Flying J gas station Sunday in Willard to drop 15 gallons of fuel into the tank.
"We're going to Colorado to visit our children, which probably isn't a good idea with these high gas prices," Dorothy said.
The RV measures 40 feet long and holds 150 gallons of diesel. Throughout most of their trip, the Sitzmans have plopped down only about $35 each fill-up with the hope of finding cheaper gas down the road. The RV gets seven miles to the gallon.
"You kind of just feel like you want to stay home and not buy their high-priced fuel," John said.
Salt Lake City resident Desiree Savage agrees - and she plans to do something about it.
Savage went to Larry H. Miller Toyota in Murray on Saturday to test drive a Prius. The hybrid car, which dealers are having trouble keeping on the lot, runs on a combination gas and electric motor and gets about 55 miles a gallon.
"I just perceived it to be more economically sound," Savage said. "I was also looking at that RAV4, and 27 miles per gallon ain't looking so good anymore."