I use to think the gas stations at Stockdale Highway and Interstate Five were pretty bad when it came to jacking drivers at the gas pump.
I wasn't even close.
I'm driving my Expedition back to Bakersfield from Albuquerque, New Mexico on Sunday, pulling a trailer loaded down with 2 horses and all of our gear.
The 5.4 liter engine was hauling the 6-to-7,000 pound load easily but I was only getting about 9-10 miles per gallon.
I hit Needles, CA on I-40 about 9 hours into the trip and had just over a 1/4 tank left, when a sign told me next services 35 miles.
My 2-yr old son Cody was asleep in the car seat, my wife Lori was reading and I felt like we could go another 35 miles before stopping for gas.
Barstow was still another 105 miles and I would stop there for some food.
I got to the gas station oasis on Interstate 40 at the Goffs Road Exit.
Remember, the GOFFS ROAD EXIT, this is important later.
We drove around to the station which resembled something out of a 2nd rate horror movie.
It was 7pm, the full moon was out and there were about a dozen people milling about.
It wasn't until I pulled up to the pump that I saw the price.
$4.39 a gallon. Yes, $4.39!!!! An early halloween scare.
Stunned I sat and stared at it, thinking fatigue had blurred my vision.
The pumps were old, no credit card slot to speak of, so I ventured inside.
I walked past a 15-yr old teenager doing his best Eminem impersonation sitting on a chair outside the station smoking a cigarette.
Upon entering, I came face to face with Lurch. Not the Adams Family character, but the real life equivalent.
I asked for 20 bucks worth, 4 1/2 gallons to get me to Ludlow, CA about 30 miles up the road.
He stared at me, and activated the pump.
When I blurted out, "$4.39, are you kidding?', he just stared at me and said, "Nope!"
I felt like any further communication would result in a machete coming out from behind the counter so I left, repeating the phrase to "Snykers" (pronounced Snickers), the kid I nicknamed while I was inside, and he also stared back without a word.
I filled up and left for Ludlow.
Just 40 minutes up the road, I pulled off in Ludlow, encountering a similar group of people, but a better price.
The $3.49 a gallon made me feel much better, having been soaked for a handful of gas at the last station.
For those of you experienced travelers on I-40 between Barstow and Needles, you already know this, but for the occasional motorist, a couple words of warning.
Stop in Arizona just before the CA border if you're headed westbound.
An Arco AMPM was advertising $2.87 a gallon and I blew by it thinking I'd find a better deal.
It goes without saying Barstow should be a topping off destination as well.
Think of it like Nascar, when they time out pitstops to maximize fuel consumption to the end of the race.
The last thing you want is your finish line to be Goffs Road.
If you're as unfortunate as I was, say hi to Lurch for me.
Please share any other nightmare pitstops, so others won't encounter a similar fate.
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3 comments:
There are some pits in the armpit of the desert on the way to Vegas from Bakersfield too. Just watch out for them or they'll getcha!
Just imagine when the world really starts running out of oil how expensive those hell holes will be...
There are some pits in the armpit of the desert on the way to Vegas from Bakersfield too. Just watch out for them or they'll getcha!
Just imagine when the world really starts running out of oil how expensive those hell holes will be...
I feel your pain. . . well almost.
I too drove an Expedition towing a trailer from Jersey to L.A. and also stopped in at the "Oasis."
This was Jan 13 '08 and prices had actually risen a bit. Gas was 4.69/gal. I was fortunate enough to have enough gas on-board to make the 76 station in Ludlow so I didn't have to bite that particular bullet.
The place has a big sign on back wall (and a couple of other smaller versions scattered around) that says (more or less) "You have a choice of being here, we don't. It cost us a fortune to build this place out here in the middle of nowhere so don;t complain to our employees about the prices."
I had stopped in to have breakfast (diabetic and had to eat something) hadn't thought the food prices that excessive. My bacon, eggs, hash browns and toast were 6 bucks, give or take. Not completely unreasonable and they actually provided a fairly good sized helping of food. So when I read that sign I asked the teenager girl (a female version of your Eminem impersonator) what the sign was all about and she explained that a lot of people bitch about the prices.
That's when I found out how much the gas was and became quite happy I had enough to make it a bit further down the road.
While I was waiting for breakfast I started looking around the place and could why people might be a bit "put out" by the other prices. A 20 oz Pepsi was 2.75 as was a OM hot dog. A 5lb bag of ice was $6. And so on. Given the prices of everything else in the place, if I had needed anything else but breakfast, yeah, I probably would have bitched as well.
The place in Ludlow was a buck/gal cheaper.
The moral of these stories is simply, while the gas prices in Ludlow and Needles may seem a tad high, trust us, fill up at those locations if you have any doubt about your ability to reach one or the other with your on-board fuel because there is nothing else between those 2 points on I-40 or anywhere near it but the Hi-Sierra Oasis.
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